As evening fell, accompanied by the glow of the setting sun, Pepper returned to New York City. Along with reporting on the day's work, she also shared her impressions of Clara with Tony.
"Really," Pepper said seriously. "I truly don't think this is the right time to tell Clara the truth. A child who's just lost her mother can't handle losing both parents at once. We need another approach—tell her the truth slowly, bit by bit. We can't let her bear all that pain at once."
"In that case," Tony replied after a pause, "let's not tell her for now."
"There's also the matter of a legal guardian," Pepper continued. "I was thinking—why not let Happy do it? Ever since you became Iron Man, he hasn't really had much to do as your bodyguard. He's been pretty down lately. Giving him something meaningful might cheer him up. He can keep a secret, too. Honestly, I can't think of anyone more suitable."
Pepper enthusiastically screened candidates for Clara's guardian, while Tony seemed distracted, his thoughts elsewhere.
"Then let Happy do it," Tony said at last.
"I'll call him and ask what he thinks," Pepper said, reaching for the phone.
"When he gets here, tell him to meet me downstairs," Tony added before getting up and heading for the underground workshop.
Pepper watched his retreating back and shook her head. Tony was like that—sometimes easy to read, sometimes completely inscrutable.
—
"JARVIS, is Clara still waiting there?"
The moment Tony entered the workshop, he had JARVIS pull up a live feed from a surveillance camera on Rottweiler Street.
"Miss Clara returned home ten minutes ago," JARVIS reported. "She waited there for a total of eight hours. The current outdoor temperature is minus three degrees Celsius. Prolonged exposure would likely result in illness."
"Eight hours?!" Tony exclaimed. "That kid is stubborn to the point of stupidity! And that old man who bought the flowers—he just left without a word? No sense of responsibility at all. If it were me, I wouldn't wait even a minute!"
As he spoke, Tony hurled a dart.
Thunk!
Bullseye.
"With all due respect, sir," JARVIS added calmly, "they are both quite similar to you."
"Hey! JARVIS!" Tony snapped. "Who taught you to insult people like that?"
"I was created by you, sir."
"I definitely didn't teach you that!"
—
Not long after, Harold 'Happy' Hogan drove up to the Stark residence. Pepper briefly explained the situation to him, and after a few acknowledgments, Happy headed straight for the underground workshop.
"What the hell is going on?" Happy demanded as soon as he opened the door. "I thought Laura Johnson would be happy since you never ruined her life—turns out she had it the worst!"
"Well, well," Tony drawled. "You remember her pretty clearly, Happy."
"Of course I do! Out of all your women, she was the only one you never touched. I've half a mind to write a book about it!"
Tony rolled his eyes. "Then go write it. With your skills, what could you possibly write? You're a boxer, a bodyguard—not an author."
"If I were an author, you'd have been assassinated ages ago!" Happy suddenly shouted, raising his fist out of habit from his boxing days. "Don't forget—I'm the one who saved you! And now you're Iron Man, and I'm useless!"
"Don't yell at me!" Tony shot back, anger flaring. "Even if you saved me, I'm still your boss!"
"Then fire me!" Happy roared. "Right now I'm just your driver! Tony Stark can get as many drivers as he wants with a single word!"
…
All things considered, Tony and Happy ended up in a completely pointless argument. Thankfully, neither of them lost their heads enough to start throwing punches. After the brief shouting match, they did what they always did—
Each grabbed a bottle of beer and started drinking.
"Why exactly are we fighting?" Tony asked between gulps.
"Because we're both assholes," Happy replied flatly.
"No, no—you're the asshole. I'm not."
"You're the biggest asshole of all. Such a good woman, and you dumped her just like that. If you didn't want her, you could've left her to me!"
"Wait—what did you just say?" Tony froze.
Happy clamped a hand over his mouth. A couple more sips of beer had loosened his tongue too much.
"You liked Laura? Why didn't you tell me?"
Tony slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing that his past mistakes ran deeper than he'd thought.
"How was I supposed to tell you?" Happy snapped. "Say I fell for the woman you dumped? I have pride too! I planned to confess after she'd had time to recover—but she suddenly got married!"
With everything out in the open, Happy stopped holding back.
Tony patted his shoulder, pausing for a moment before speaking.
"Do you want to be Clara's guardian?"
"What kind of guardian?" Happy asked. "Her dad?"
"No," Tony said quickly. "Right now, Clara thinks I'm her father. You'll be her uncle—for now. It'll keep her from attracting too much attention."
"…Alright. When are we doing this?"
"JARVIS can finish all the paperwork tonight. Tomorrow morning, you and Pepper will go pick her up."
"Is she staying at my place?"
"Pepper met her this morning," Tony said. "Clara seems determined to live on her own. I'm thinking of buying her a house near Lesper Falls Middle School. We'll tell her after she's an adult."
As he spoke, Tony had already instructed JARVIS to locate and purchase the property. The speed was astonishing.
"Then when will you tell her you're not her father?"
"Later. Now isn't the right time."
…
Early the next morning, Pepper and Happy arrived in Lesper Falls Town and took Clara to her new home. They left behind the rented room—apart from a few clothes, there was nothing to bring.
When they entered the old apartment, the wall covered in Tony Stark newspaper clippings stunned both Pepper and Happy.
Laura had loved Tony unwaveringly for ten years.
Such devotion was rare—and tragic.
At the alley entrance, Clara ran into Hans.
She thanked him sincerely. This somewhat clumsy American man had genuinely worried about her—she could feel it.
"Clara," Hans said eagerly, "I have to tell you a secret. Even though Mr. Stark didn't want me to say anything—I still want to tell you. He came here last night. In full Iron Man armor. Up close, it was really cool!"
Hans was terrible at keeping secrets. Tony had told him not to say anything—but he simply couldn't help himself. Someone like this would never survive as an undercover agent.
"Really?" Clara blinked in surprise. "He came here?"
Sneaking around like that… didn't quite match Tony Stark's usual style.
"Of course it's true. Even though he's not—"
"Clara, it's time to go," Pepper cut in smoothly. "We still need to get breakfast, and I'm starving!"
She knew exactly what Hans was about to say.
"Okay!" Clara replied. "Goodbye, Uncle Hans. I'll come back to visit!"
Pepper had Happy take Clara to the car, then stayed behind to speak with Hans.
"Mr. Morgan," Pepper said gently, "I hope you can keep the matter of Clara's father confidential. She's just lost her mother. I don't think you'd want a child to lose two parents at once—that would be far too cruel."
"Yes, yes, of course!" Hans smacked his forehead. "I almost blurted it out again. So… what's Mr. Stark planning to do?"
"Once Clara's grief has eased, we'll tell her the truth," Pepper explained. "After that, we'll find her a suitable foster family so she can grow up with a complete home."
"You've really thought this through," Hans said earnestly. "I swear I won't tell anyone!"
This time, he even raised his hand in oath.
A few days later, a massive package arrived at Hans's home.
Inside were four sets of globally limited-edition Iron Man figures.
But that—
Was a story for another time.
--------------
T/N:
Access Advance Chapters on my
P@treon: [email protected]/PokePals