A/N: hola

this is the million dollar chapter, you guys

hope you have tissues prepared...

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as your daughter, Tony?"
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All these years spent with the billionaire and she never could tell what their relationship really was.

She always thought that father-daughter sounded too hopeful. And strangers who happened to get along sounded too vague. She was always too afraid to ask, knowing that the answer would only end up hurting her. She also didn't want to put the pressure of being a father on him only because she needed a fatherly figure in her life. It wouldn't have been fair.

So time had passed and she never said a word to him no matter how badly she wanted to. She had started to see him like a father, but she couldn't say the same for him.

But when he told the entire world yesterday that she was his daughter, Adelaide felt...well, she didn't know what she felt.

Surprised? Warm? Confused?

Her broken heart told her it could have been a lie. She was fragile enough already, she didn't need to build herself up to a happiness that didn't really exist. But then she wondered where lying about that would get him and she realized it probably wasn't a lie.

But if it wasn't a lie, then that meant...

Adelaide was deep in her thoughts when she heard a knock on her door. It was really early in the morning. In fact, it was still dark outside. But even with all the pain meds and absolute exhaustion, she just couldn't sleep. There was too much to think about.

"Come in," she said.

To her surprise, it was Tony. She paused.

"Hey," she said unsurely.

He let himself inside the room and closed the door behind him. He took a seat on the bed, next to her feet. The man looked exhausted, even in the dark. He was still in the same clothes from yesterday and she had a feeling he hadn't slept a wink since then. Now that she thought about it, he probably hadn't slept properly in a few days ever since she had left.

It was really quiet for a while. Adelaide picked at the corner of the comforter anxiously. She wished he would say something, but she also didn't. What if he said something and it only hurt?

"How's the rib?" he asked quietly, staring at his hands.

"It's fine," she answered. He nodded.

"And the headache?"

"Gone," she said. He nodded again.

More silence. Long, unbearable silence. It stretched out for so long that Adelaide just had to fill it with something. Anything. So she said the first thing that came to mind.

"Took the gene joke a little far yesterday," she said. Tony looked surprised for a moment before he smiled a bit. The corners of her mouth tugged upwards slightly.

"I'm sorry," he said after a moment. Adelaide studied his face.

And then she knew she just had to ask, whatever the answer may be.

"Do you really see me as your daughter, Tony?" she whispered.

She held her breath in anticipation. She realized just how much power she had put into her question. With just one word, he could make or break her heart. Her heart thundered loudly in her chest, scared to hear the answer.

Tony looked at her. His eyes studied her face. He looked sad.

"Yes," he whispered, "You've been my daughter for as long as I've known you."

Adelaide stared back at him, fighting back tears. She swallowed. Her eyes fell back down to her fingers that were still picking at the comforter and she pursed her lips together, nodding. She wanted to sob. She sniffled instead. She wanted to say something but she couldn't find the right words so she just nodded.

"If you want me to step back and give you space, I understand," he said quietly. She wanted to tell him loudly no, I never want any space between us because I see you as my father too and I love you so much that sometimes I think I'm crazy but her voice was too shaky to even make a sound. Her face twisted into a painful expression and she furiously shook her head, still staring at her hands. The tears quickly began falling from her eyes and before she could stop it, she was crying.

His warm arms were around her almost instantly and she sunk into his shoulder, crying hard. The sobs only made her side hurt, but she couldn't stop. He just smelled so familiar, so much like home and even though they had only been fighting for a few days, she had missed him like crazy. She hated going that long without talking to him.

Adelaide wasn't sure, but she thought she heard him sniffling too. She forced herself to calm down and slowly pulled away. His hands gently held her face, making her look up at him.

"I-I don't want s-space," she hiccuped. Tony gave her a teary smile, shaking his head.

"No space," he promised quietly, his voice shaky too. She bit back a sob.

"N-No stepping b-back," she said. He shook his head again.

"No stepping back," he said, pushing stray strands of her hair out of her face. She sniffled as she watched the man she loved more than anything in the world cry. In that moment, briefly, she felt a flicker of fear in her chest. She scared herself with how much she loved him. She wouldn't be able to bear it if anyone ever so much as touched a hair on his head.

"I-I need you," she whispered, "Y-You're...Y-You're my...y-you know?"

"No, I don't know," he teased and she laughed through her tears, annoyed. She shoved his shoulder, making him chuckle a little as well. He pulled her into his arms again and she buried her face into his chest, against his dress shirt. Everything was always okay in his arms. She took her time to try and catch her breath, sniffling occasionally. Finally, she found her voice again.

"You're my dad, Tony," she whispered, "And I love you."

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They must have fallen asleep because when Adelaide's eyes opened again, the sun was high in the sky. Her curtains were still closed, of course. And the lockdown sequence was still in place, if she knew Pepper at all.

Adelaide looked over at Tony who was still asleep beside her. He was frowning in his sleep, which made her smile. She decided to let him sleep. He looked exhausted last night. If she knew him at all, this was probably the first time he'd slept peacefully in days. It was funny how they both worked. When she was spending the night at Peter's, she could hardly sleep either, knowing that Tony was probably sleepless too. And no amount of meds could really knock her out until Tony finally came into her room last night. After that, she was out like a baby.

Slowly, she pushed the covers off of herself and attempted to sit up on the bed without straining her side. The painkillers' effect was starting to wane and her ribs were hurting like crazy again. Somehow, she managed to stand. She was a little dizzy at first, but then she found her balance and was eventually able to walk on her own.

She pulled on her robe as she quietly left her room, closing the door behind herself.

When she reached the end of the hall, she saw the metal shutters still over the windows by the dining table. She sighed. She wondered how long this would last.

Pepper and Happy were in the kitchen, having a late breakfast and she decided to join them. She was sort of limping because any movement of her side caused sharp pains so when Happy saw her trying to walk on her own, he hurried out of his chair to help her. Which would have been sweet if he didn't start to immediately scold her for trying to make a journey all the way to the kitchen on her own.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she mumbled as he helped her into a chair by the kitchen island.

"I'll decide if you're fine," he said and she looked at him expectantly, "You look fine right now, but if I see you trying to walk anywhere on your own again..."

"Can I hire you as my personal cane?" she grinned. He gave her a disappointing frown.

"Coffee?" Pepper asked, holding out the coffee pot and a mug.

"Mm, yes please," she said, almost greedily taking it from her hands. She gulped it down, not care how hot the liquid was. When she was done, she stared at the mug in her hands, tracing the rim with her finger. "It's really crazy out there, isn't it?"

"You're safe in here," Pepper said.

"How long can I hide in here, Pep? I gotta leave the Tower sometime," she said.

"We'll cross that bridge once we get to it," the woman said, sitting down beside her at the kitchen island.

"I have school," she reminded her.

"They'll send your assignments here for a while. Besides, you broke your rib. You're not going back for a while," she said, "And while it heals, we'll think of something."

Adelaide said nothing, staring at her mug.

"Eat something," Pepper said, "You'll need it today." Adelaide watched her in confusion as she piled fruits and pancakes onto a plate before sliding it to her.

"What's today?" she asked. Pepper and Happy both glanced at each other which only made her more nervous.

"The NYPD want to interrogate you for their investigation," Happy said and Adelaide felt any appetite she had before disappearing. "They'll be here in two hours so we should probably get your story straight before they come."

"I'll get Tony," Pepper sighed, leaving the kitchen.

Adelaide swallowed. She was going to have to tell Tony and Pepper about her brother. And the infinity stone. And that she may or may not be person who killed those five people yesterday.

This was about to be a very long morning.

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A/N: next up, a cameo from a very special and new person! any guesses?

anyway, it finally happened, you guys. they are officially father and daughter now. well, not officially legally but we'll worry bout that later...unless? hehe gotta keep y'all on your toes

uni has kept me ridiculously busy (my dumb ass thought it would be smart to take five class and 17 credit hours) but i'm doing alright. my first exam is today and it's accounting (yuck) but i've studied for it so we'll see how this dance goes

anyway, if i was doing literally nothing else with my life, i would love nothing more than to write the rest of this book and then publish it all at once, but, unfortunately, i gotta go to college and stuff. so annoying. who decided college should be mandatory to be able to afford to live??? whoever thought of that needs to be raised from his grave and slapped a couple times across the face

question: how do you feel about tony and adie's new relationship?? is it everything you hoped for :)

next chapter is the interrogation and then we're hitting FLUFF CITY before *infinity war*  you guys are so not ready yikes

anyway, see you next wednesday! 💛