Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The message came when he least expected it.

Tony had been in South Korea presenting the newest tech to the military base there, when his phone rang.

“Meet me at my place, 7pm, it’s important-, Mi-yeong“

Tony knew the former k Pop idol from back on his young days when he went to a concert with Rhodey. He got them back stage passes to the Sunlight Sisters and the two plus happy interacted with them. It was specially fun to try to see Rhodey flirt with one of them.

Tony then personally got to spend time with Mi Yeong, and developed a friendship with her. They kept contact from time to time.

Then he heard the sunlight sisters suddenly broke up, and he was unable to contact his friend…until Joe.

Which is why this message was so concerning. It was so…secretive.

Still, he was already here, he might as well answer the call.

“This can’t be the place.” Tony mumbled, as he stepped in a small house in the middle of nowhere.

He knocked the door, and it was soon opened.

“Anthony !” Mi Yeong said. “Come inside quickly.”

Tony went inside quickly.

“Hey what in the world is happening ! I heard the sisters broke up ! Why are you here, and where is”

“Wah !”

A baby’s cries stopped Tony as he realized..they weren’t alone.

Mi Yeong went to held the baby.

“Anthony, this is my daughter, Rumi.”

Tony was left speachless.

“You have…a daughter !”

“Yes…and I must ask you one very important thing. I need you to take Rumi with you.”

“What !”

Mi Yeong held her daughter.

“Rumi is…she’s special. She’s the product of a love that many will see as a mistake. They won’t understand her…love her. But I know you Tony, I know despite your personality, your heart is giant. I know you can love Rumi.”

“But you clearly adore her, why can’t she stay with her mom !”

“She…won’t be safe with me.”

She had never told him of the secrets of the demons, Gi Wa, Celine who hadn’t accepted the child, called her a mistake.

She didn’t tell him that as Death’s Merchat, he’s the only human Gwi Ma is scared of. That he’s the only one that can keep Rumi safe.

“Here.” She handled him a journal. “This has all the answers you need. I wish I could tell you in person everything thing…but time is running out.”

“I…I don’t know. I’m not the…child caring type…”

“Anthony…”

Suddenly Mi Yeong stood still.

“They’re here.”

She held Rumi close.

“Farewell my love. I wish I could see you grow…you’ll be in good hands. I love you.”

With that she held her arms painfully, telling him to get ahold of the baby.

Tony was still stunned. But something deep inside him told him….to do this.

So with slow hesitation, he grabbed the sleeping baby girl.

As soon as he held her, he felt warmth in his body. Unlike he ever felt before.

“Now go. Get…get her out of here.”

“Mi.. “

“Go ! Now !”

With one final look. Tony turned back and ran. The crying Rumi on his arms.

Back at his home in LA Tony sat there watching the sleeping baby Rumi.

He had finally got her to sleep. She only slept two hours of the plane ride.

As soon as he landed, JARVIS gave him the news. Mi Yeong..was dead.

She was wound dead at her home.

She had to have know…something was about to happen. To give him her daughter like this, just before her death.

She entrusted him with something so precious..

“JARVIS.”

“Yes Sir ?”

“You think I can do this….i can take care of something so precious. So delicate when..I’m such a mess.”

“I think you can do anything when you want Sir.”

….

“I want you to throw away every single bottle of alcohol in this house, and cancel all parties. From now on only the most trusted can enter the house. Tell Rhodey if he can come tomorrow. We will only tell him for now. And order everything a baby might need.”

“Yes sir….Im proud of you.”

Tony walked to the sleeping Rumi.

“I’m not the dad you deserve little one…but I will become him little one. I promise.”

He sat beside the crib and began reading what Mi Yeong left for him, determined to get this right.

That day, the story of Rumi Ryu Stark, began.

That day, her father changed for the better. And it would all lead to a different outcome for both of them.

Chapter Text

The world noticed the change.

Out of the blue, the playboy party man known as Tony Stark suddenly vanished. Leaving a serious buissness man.

Suddenly, the world saw how Stark refused to drink any alcohol, cancelled all of his famous parties, and transitioned from a egotistical man, to a bright buissness man that was suddenly much humbler and honest.

The world could not deny the man had changed, but what they didn't know, is why ?

They did not know the reason was a very simple, but also complex. He became a dad.

Being a single dad, was the best thing that ever happened to Tony.

Rumi was a quiet child, well behaved, but she had her needs as any baby did, and Tony tended to them all without complain.

He was determined to keep her off the spotlight until he had no choice. Only Rhodey, Pepper, and Happy knew of her existence.

When he was not being a dad, he spend his days reading Mi Yeong's book, and learning things he thought impossible.

Demons living underneath them, Gwi Ma, the hunters that took them down, the Honmoon...

The Sunlight sisters clearly were the previous hunters, had been hunting demons for years. Until Mi Yeong fell in love with a demon...

That day the sisters broke..it now made sense why Mi Yeong trusted him over them to take care of Rumi.

There's also the fact that Rumi is half demon, one day, she will show demonic patterns and behaviors.

The scientific part of him wanted to study it, the paternal wanted to know just to protect her. Obviously the paternal side won.

Unfortunatley him being Tony Stark meant he could not hide Rumi forever. So, when his little girl turned 5, the world finally got to know Rumi Stark...and knew that if they ever messed with her, her father would make sure they regreted it.

The story was around...80 percent the truth. An old friend of Tony asked him to take her daughter because she wouls not be able to take care of her herself, said friend went on to tragically die leaving him as Rumi's sole guardian. He confirmed she was the reason he stopped drinking and stared behaving more responsable.

They left the half demon thing out of course.

Now of course there were some people that tried to take advantage of the young Stark. Reporters, news anchors, and of course kidnappers.

Well, all those reporters, news, outlets, that tried everything, got sued until they went broke, and well....there had only been two attempts to kidnap Rumi, both of them ended in failure and the would be kidnappers begging for the police to take them. \

That day the world learned an important lesson.

Do NOT mess with Rumi Stark.

As she got older, as expected Rumi started turning out like her dad.

She might be adopted, but she was turning out just as smart as him.

She quickly took into buiding things, working on her dad's workshop with things he deemed safe for her.

Howard never payed atention for Tony's achievements...Tony celebrated everything Rumi did.

But aside from developing a curious scientific mind, she also started to show her voice. The voice that came from her mother.

The day she first song, Rumi told her father she wanted to sing. She wanted to become an idol, just like her mother. And Tony of course supported her. He hired the best vocal trainers, dacing instructors, everything his little girl would need when she made her dream come true.

Then at the age of 7, the patterns finally appeared.

"AAAAAAAAH !"

Little Rumi had yelled when she woke up one day and saw her arms covered in purple lines.

She tried to wash them but they did not go away, and it made her scared.

"Little One." JARVIS's voice came out. "Please calm down, I have notified your father and he is on his way."

Soon enough, Tony burst into the room.

"Papa !" Rumi yelled towards him. "My arms, they...they are purple !"

"Shh, calm down Rumi bear." Tony picked her up and calmed her down. "Its ok, do they hurt ?"

"N...no."

"Then its all gonna be ok. Remember what i told you about your birth father, how he was different."

"Yeah...are this from him...because he was a demon ?"

"Yeah. This patterns..they are only a birth mark, they don't define who you are Rumi."

...I don't like them. They're weird."

"I think they are charming."

"You do..."

"Yeah, they make you more...special."

Because of her father's (and later Uncle Rhodey's, Pepper, and Happy's) support, Rumi learned to accept her patters, that thy did not define her.

However...she wanted no one to see them unless she trusted them.

Sadly Tony was forced to agree. More because of how unique the patters were. Sure they could say they were tatoos when she grew up...but with how unique they are, questions would have been brought.

So from now on, Rumi was always seeing in public with her sleeves covered.

For casual clothing she had taken a liking to hoodies, aparently the patterns did make her a bit cold, and she liked how comfortable they are. For more elegant events she wore jackets, long sleeved dresses, just anything to make sure no one saw her patterns.

She knew her father was not comfortable with it, he wanted her to be free to be herself. But he respected her choice.

Fortunately that did little to change how she grew up. She was homeschooled, but that was because her being the Stark heir, schools brough safety concerns. She continued her dance and singing lessons, as well as some buissness lessons for the future.

Her father treated her like she was his entire world. Her uncle Rhodey was also always there for her, as well as Pepper and Happy. All of them knew who she truly is, all of them loved her despite that. It made her feel good.

And then...her dad was kidnapped.

Those months when her father was missing were the worst in Rumi's life.

The press constantly followed her, asking questions she did not want to even think about them.

Stane (he had always been Stane to her, despite him being close to her father, Rumi had never liked him] tried to tell her about the future of S.I, about supporting him. She refused to even see him.

In the end she had to hide at the manor, just so that the world left her alone with her worry and grief.

Rhodey was out there searching for Tony, which had left Pepper the mission of taking care of her.

"Rumi dear, you need to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Rumi please, you have not eaten in days."

"I said I am not hungry !"

Her patterns glowed and the house slightly shook. Just like she did when she got so angry or stressed.

Pepper however did not even flinch. She knew Rumi at her core, she would never harm anyone.

"Your father would like you to eat...do it for him ok. I don't want him to come back and see his daughter malnurished."

"If he returns."

"He WILL return." Pepper said certainly. "I know Tony, and I know he is too stuborn to allow those idiots to stop him. He'll claw his way back to us, back to you, I know it."

Rumi stayed quiet for a while.

"Look, I even brought your favorite Ramyun."

Rumi looked at the cup, it was warm and...it smelled good.

Not been able to resist she grabbed the cup and started eating.

"Its good."

"I'm glad."

"Thank you."

"Its no problem. I got things to do but just call me if you need me."

Rumi watched her leave.

She has always loved Pepper, she was always so kind and understanding with her.

She knows her Dad has a crush on her as well...

"When you come back Dad, I will get you to ask her out..."

When Rumi finally saw her dad again, she had grabbed a hold of him and refused to let him go.

Learning what happened was horrible, and specially what the arc reactor was there for.

Since that day, she has prayed for Ho Yinsen, thanking him for getting her father back.

And then her dad started acting all weird .

Shutting down weapons manufacture, started to track all of them down. Don't get her wrong, she liked those changes, but they came out of the blue.

Then Iron Man started to appear, and she knew right away, that was her dad.

JARVIS confirmed it, and she confronted him on ther workshop alongside Pepper.

He told them....that he felt it was something he had ot do.

She did not have the heart to stop him.

Then the whole mess with Stane happened. Her father had instructed Happy to take her to safety while he dealt with him. It ended with him back in the hospital...but he beat him.

Days later when her father announced himself as Iron Man, she stood right there with him.

In a lot of ways, Rumi had helped keep Tony anchored down.

When he learned of the poisoning, it was his love for her that got him to tell all of his friends about it, instead of hiding it.

Because of it, they stopped him from doing stupid desperate things, and helped him find a cure.

He built the War Machine suit and gave it to Rhodey. The only condition was that he was the only one he could pilot it.

It was also because of her, that he avoided SHIELD's manipulations.

Rumi had caught on who Natalie Rushman really was in an instant. She had been reading her mother's diares and learned when someone was hiding. Pepper, who was now CEO, had promtly fired her, as well as made sure SHIELD was never able to get into the company.

She also made sure Fury was never able to get alone with her father, the last thing she wanted was him manipulating him

She was with him on the lab, after the Feds returned everything SHIELD had taken from his father, to discovered the new element that helped cure him, and later went with Pepper to comfront Hammer while he and Rhodey dealt with Vanko.

And she was there when her father finally got the guts to ask Pepper out on a date.

Meanwhile she continued her training. Not only to be an idol...but to one day, begin hunting too.

Her father kept her down to earth just like she did to him. They helped each other out as always had.