Tony sped around the facility that looked to be something like an airplane hanger. Man, Hammer never really knew how to change his tactics, did he. Above him, he saw the sky darken and the thunder crack and Tony smiled. When Thor left after they had dealt with Ultron, Tony was not sure if he was ever going to see the God again in his lifetime. So when Wanda said she might be able to reach him telepathically, he knew it was going to be a long shot.
Tony landed on top of the building and allowed his helmet to retract and soon felt another bang against the metal roof.
"Didn't think I'd see you again." Tony said to the blonde God.
"Yes, well, Maximoff can be quite frightening." Thor responded.
"Don't I know it." Tony mumbled. "They tell you everything?"
"Only that a drama queen billionaire kidnapped Lady Natasha and your best friend."
"Who knew you could be so sarcastic?" Tony mocked.
"What are we up against?" Thor asked, a small smile on his face, ignoring Tony's jab.
"Who knows." Tony said. "Hammer himself is not that big of a threat, but there are countless people that hate us and would align with him."
"Guys." Steve's voice came through the coms and Tony's helmet flew back up. "Could use your help getting in."
"Right." Tony agreed. "See you on the other side, point break,"
Tony jumped off the roof and flew off. He knew Thor had followed because the thunder increased throughout the area.
"Alright Nat, where are you?" Tony mumbled to himself. "Ah boy!" He groaned before he flew through the wall, tearing through the metal like it was tin foil.
—
Natasha stumbled her way through the building, Rollins had his hand fisted in her hair, pulling tightly. She walked past a part of the building with windows and her mouth warped into a smile at the sight of the lightning.
She was glad she had decided to wear a baggy shirt, she did not know if Rollins was informed of that like Hammer said, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
The window ahead of them shattered and someone flew through it, landing gracefully on their feet. Natasha smiled for another moment as her best friend stood up, an arrow already in place.
"Agent Barton." Rollins greeted and wrapped his hand around Natasha's throat.
"Nah, you can call me Barton, the S.H.I.E.L.D. we belonged to is gone and you are going to let my best friend go." Clint said.
"Oh really?" Rollins asked and clicked the safety off on his pistol and placed it by Natasha's temple.
The two men had a staring contest and Natasha held her breath.
—
Tony flew through the hanger, shooting anyone who tried to shoot at him.
"I mean honestly, do they not realize that the suit is bullet proof?" Tony mocked.
"Boss, Barton has located Miss. Romanoff on the fifth floor." F.R.I.D.A.Y. informed him.
"Alright, I'm on my way." Tony said and turned on his com set. "Barton found Romanoff, I'm heading there right now..."
"No." Steve's voice came through.
"I'm sorry." Tony said, anger lacing his words. "Are you telling me not to go after the woman I love? Remember which one of us actually defied the United States Army to rescue his best friend."
"I know." Steve reasoned. "But someone needs to go get Rhodes."
"No one else can do it?" Tony asked.
"There are a lot of criminals out here, that we are preventing from getting to you, so no." Steve grunted, he was most likely fighting one of the criminals.
"Alright." Tony said reluctantly. "Anyone have a visual?"
"There's a strong lead pointing to the seventh floor." Sam informed him.
"You owe me big Rhodes." Tony muttered and catapulted himself through the ceiling.
—
Clint did not lower his bow and Rollins did not lower the gun. Natasha's eyes met Clint's and suddenly Clint's plan came to her. Years of working side-by-side was finally paying off. Slowly Natasha lowered her hand away from where it was gripping Rollins hand, which was wrapped around her neck.
Clint's eyes flickered down and shot his arrow, it wedged itself in Rollins hand, causing the other man to scream. Natasha took advantage of this and elbowed the gun out of his other hand, and then jumped down, landing on her back.
Quickly Clint notched another arrow and let it fly, it burrowed inside Rollins' temple, killing him instantly. It was silent for a moment, neither one of the spies moved, but then Clint shook his head and ran over by his friend.
"Natasha." He called.
"Hey." She called back as he gathered her in his arms. "Took you long enough." She teased.
Clint smiled into her hair, but then his face warped into a frown of confusion when he felt the bump on his friend's stomach.
"Nat?" He said and pulled back, placing his hand on her stomach.
"Surprise." She said awkwardly.
"Stark's?" Clint asked, to which Natasha nodded. "Does he know?"
"It's what I was going to do before Hammer got us." Natasha informed him.
They both heard a big bang and then nothing. Clint helped his friend get up and waited until she regained her balance. He then notched another arrow and slowly set off in the direction of the noise. Natasha reached down and grabbed the gun that had been against her head moments ago and got into her defensive mode as she followed Clint.
Reaching the other end of the floor they saw a small hole, but large enough for a person to fit through, and then an identical one directly above in the ceiling. Clint slowly let the bowstring go and he reached up turning his com link on.
"Anyone wanna tell me why there is a hole in the building?" Clint asked, handing a spare one to Natasha, who placed it in her ear, not for one moment letting her guard down.
"We found Rhodes." Nick said from his place back on the Barton Farm. "Stark is on it now."
"Clint." Natasha said desperately.
"What floor?" Clint asked for his friend, since her com seemed to lack in the communication department, allowing her to only listen.
"Barton, what about Romanoff?" Fury asked, his voice lacking any emotion even though Clint knew how important Natasha was to him.
"I got her. Now what floor?" Clint demanded.
"Seventh." Fury informed them.
Natasha turned and bolted for the stairs. She heard Clint running behind her, keeping up with her easily.
"Be careful." He warned now that he knew of her condition.
"Shut up." Natasha growled, but slowed down a little.
"How did you know where the stairs were?" Clint asked as they began to climb them.
"Rollins dragged me down them." Natasha answered shortly.
"Nat..." Clint warned.
"Don't worry, I was careful." She told him. "Let's get the hell out of here in one piece, and then you can continue to lecture me."
—
"I'm reading multiple hostiles." F.R.I.D.A.Y. informed him.
"Hey, God of Thunder?" Tony asked. "When you're done beating up those scum bags, I could use your help."
"Be there as soon as we can." Steve's voice came through, even though Tony did not even ask for him.
"Like the Captain said, we'll be there as soon as we can." Thor agreed.
God, Tony really missed working with these guys.
"Alright F.R.I.D.A.Y., it's just me and you." Tony said as he burst through the last ceiling.
"Ah, Anthony!" Hammer exclaimed and Rhodey stood up and all the men in the room pointed their guns at Tony.
"This looks fun." Tony said smugly and blasted one of the men back.
He took out two more guards before he felt searing pain in his forearm. Tony looked down to see that there was a hole the size of a bullet in his suit.
"The hell?" Tony asked.
"You're not the only one to make a few upgrades." Hammer told him.
Tony felt Rhodey's worried gaze on him.
"Well then you know I can do this." Tony said and he hissed at the feeling of ice temporarily fixing the wound.
"Kill him." Hammer told his men and Tony extended his shield.
They fought for a solid ten minutes before Tony found himself on his back with a gun in his face. Suddenly an arrow went in Hammer's man and he fell over. Tony pushed the dead man off of him and he looked over to see Clint already notching another arrow. Lightning flew over his face and it was clear that Thor and Steve had arrived.
Tony got up and fought alongside his former teammates. With the four of them it did not take them long to take the rest of the men out. Rhodey went and stood over by Cap and Clint.
Hammer backed up, fear slowly growing in his eyes. He clearly was not expecting all of them to be working together since the events of the airport in Germany. He grabbed the gun of one of the men on the floor and pointed it at Tony.
"Stark!" Steve shouted.
Tony turned around, but it was too late. A gunshot rang out and Tony's hands flew to his stomach out of reflex, but he felt no blood.
"You bitch!!" Hammer howled, clutching his bloody hand.
Thor, Steve, Rhodey, and Tony all whipped there heads to see a blonde Natasha Romanoff standing at the door, gun in hand. Tony could not prevent the gasp that fell out of his mouth. For three months he had been wondering what he would do when he was finally reunited with her, what he would say. Now that she was here, standing in front of him, everything flew out of his mind.
"We're all clear out here." Sam informed them on coms, breaking Tony out of his daze.
He was glad that he was still in his suit and that no one could see the way his cheeks flushed red, like a love sick teenager.
"We're good in here too." Steve replied and walked over to Hammer, who's hand was gushing red. "You're going away for a long time."
"Oh yeah?" Hammer chuckled, sweating profusely. "And how are you going to do that?"
"There is an amazing cell waiting for you in the Atlantic Ocean, I will make sure that Ross gives you the best seat in the house." Tony mocked.
"I will get you." Hammer growled as Steve hulled him to his feet. "I promise you both I will get you again." Hammer called as Steve and Thor took him out of the room. "I will destroy your family!" Hammer yelled as he disappeared around the corner.
It was silent for a moment Tony stared at Natasha from behind his helmet and she stared back. Clint awkwardly cleared his throat and the others turned to face him.
"I'm going to go check the other floors make sure there are no more threats." Clint told them and awkwardly clapped his hands together and grabbed his bow, he soon left the room.
"And I'm going to go with him." Rhodey wasted no time in following Clint.
Tony then let his suit retract from around him, and Natasha let out an involuntary gasp. Tony's face had a sunken look to it and he looked like a girl that had just gone through a break up and had mascara running from the black rings under his eyes. His eyes were slightly red from sleep deprivation and his hair was longer than she had seen it in a while.
"Tony." She whispered, taking a step towards him.
That seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back and the older man rushed towards her and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Had to make sure you were real." He muttered.
"I'm real." She assured him, placing her hand over his. "Tony, I'm so sorry."
"It doesn't matter, you're here now." He brushed off her apology.
"No it does matter, you matter, Tony." Natasha demanded. "I should not have left, but I thought you would be better without me."
"Clearly you forgot how stubborn I was." Tony said, giving a tired smile.
"Clearly." Natasha agreed, a small smile reaching her face. "My point is, if you will still have me, I would love to come home."
She left out the part about the child that was currently residing in her womb. Natasha wanted Tony to make up his mind on his own and not feel forced into welcoming her back.
"For the longest time I wanted to be mad at you." Tony confided. "I wanted to hate you for leaving me like everyone else in my life."
"I understand." Natasha said quietly, disappointment hiding in her words. "Thank you for rescuing me." She told him, her emotions closing off from him. "I'll see you around, Stark."
She turned and began to walk away from him, tears slowly rolling down her face. When she left after the airport in Germany, it had been hard for her. This was devastating, because this time Tony was physically there.
"Are you seriously leaving again?" Tony asked, outraged.
"Well it seems like you don't want me here." She hissed as she turned around, not caring if he saw her crying or not.
"If I didn't want you here, why would I spend every moment of everyday looking for you?" Tony demanded as he walked towards her, his steps slow and deliberate, as if he was worried about spooking her like a frightened animal. "Natasha, I loved you and you left me."
Natasha flinched at the word 'loved', it seemed so final and over with.
"The thing is, you run for the hills at the first sign of danger." Tony said, they were now four feet away from each other.
"It is what has kept me all these years." Natasha said, she blamed her tears on the pregnancy hormones.
"It is what has kept you from forming attachments to people." Tony said, raising his hand to cup her face, his thumb wiping away the tears. "When you love someone the way I love you, you can never truly hate them. They always have their claws in your heart,"
"And what kind of love is that?" Natasha whispered, he was so close she could practically taste the coffee his breath smelled like.
"Unconditional." He told her and connected their lips.
Natasha moaned and let her body relax as she let Tony back her up against the wall, tangling her fingers in his hair. She didn't even feel his hand slip under her shirt until it was too late. His hand stilled against the curve of her usually flat stomach.
Both of them remained frozen, neither knowing how to go about this new information. If Natasha was being totally honest, she got so lost in Tony that she completely forgot about her condition.
"Tony?" She asked breathless, fear lacing her words.
"How?" Tony asked. "I-I mean, I know how but...how?" He asked.
"It is very rare, but sometimes it does happen." Natasha responded, quietly.
"Is it...?" Tony trailed off and shakily pointed at himself.
"Yes." Natasha answered.
"I'm going to be..." Tony trailed off, shock etched into his features.
"I know this isn't what you signed up for," Natasha started to ramble. "and I totally get it if you never want to...mmph!"
Tony crashed his lips back on hers and Natasha could feel him smiling against her lips.
"I love you." He confessed as they broke apart. "I love you both." Tony whispered letting his hand rest on her stomach.
Natasha felt her body burst with warmth. Deep down Natasha knew she could not choose a better man to be a father, despite popular belief. The only thing Natasha wished was that she had not ran in the first place.
"I love you too." She whispered and leant up to kiss him again.
—
By the time the two of them got down to the outside there were government transports there and Thor was helping the government get the criminals into the transports. Tony pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses and handed them over to Natasha, who instantly put them on. They were just lucky the government officials were busy and the press was not here yet.
Tony also put some distance between them, so that way Natasha would be less recognizable in the long run. He went over by Thor, Natasha following, careful not to make any wrong moves.
"The others?" She heard Tony whisper.
"Most of them are back at the farm." Thor whispered back, clued in on the situation with the Accords. "The California guy went back, he figured that the sooner he got back to his house the better."
"And you?" Natasha asked, schooling her features and her voice.
"It is time I head back to my quest for the infinity stones." Thor informed them.
"Be safe." Natasha told him and leant up to hug him.
"As long as you do the same." Thor said and smiled at her.
"Thank you again." Tony said and extended his hand.
"Any time." Thor accepted the thank you. "Don't hesitate to call if you need help with your mortal problems."
"We won't." Tony told him and turned to Natasha. "Do you feel offended being called a mortal problem?" He teased.
"Shut up." She grinned and Thor smiled at them both.
The sky got dark and Thor was gone in a flash of lightning. Tony turned to Natasha and they began to walk away from the remaining government cars.
"So, does flying trigger your morning sickness?" Tony asked.
"Never tried it, but probably, it is really bad right now." Natasha informed him.
"Then I guess it is a good thing I told F.R.I.D.A.Y. to bring the car around." Tony told her as they walked trough a small patch of trees and the familiar orange car was there.
—
They pulled up to the Barton Farm a few hours later. Laura rushed out of the house and wrapped Natasha in a huge hug.
"My God." Laura exclaimed and pulled back to look Natasha in the face. "Clint told me, but seeing is believing I guess."
"Yeah, it's crazy right?" Natasha smiled tearfully.
"Yeah." Laura responded, just as chocked up. "Congratulations!"
The two women embraced again and a creak got Tony's head to snap up and he saw Clint by the stairs. The other man jerked his head and Tony nodded.
"I'm just gonna go check on...I fully expect to see you here when I get back Romanoff." Tony said and threw his thumb over his shoulder.
The two women nodded at him and Natasha felt her cheeks heat up from the truth of her actions. He followed the direction Clint went until he was in the barn. Tony chuckled at the thought of the last time he was in here. As a matter of fact, Tony checked the spot where Fury was hiding just to be safe.
"I'm not a spy, where are you Barton?" Tony complained.
He heard a noise and turned, looking up. Clint was perfectly balanced, sitting on one of the rafters.
"Honestly, not even going to ask about how you got up there." Tony grumbled. "What am I doing here Barton?"
"Do you know?" Clint asked.
"Jeez, I know a lot of things, you're going to have to be more specific." Tony teased and Clint rolled his eyes and climbed down from his perch.
"About Nat?" He asked again.
"She told you before me?" Tony tried to keep the hurt out of his voice.
"I kinda figured it out when I hugged her." Clint shrugged. "Now that you've answered my question, what do you plan on doing about it?"
"I've spent the last three months looking for her non-stop, I am not going to abandon her because of it." Tony defended. "I love him or her already and I have only known about them for 3 hours."
"Good answer." Clint nodded. "Though you do understand that if you hurt them, I will personally hunt you down and kill you."
"If I hurt her..." Tony began. "...I will hand you the gun, or bow, whatever your preference is."
"I'd better be Godfather." Clint warned and Tony laughed.
"How terrifying is it?" Tony asked.
"Oh your world will never be the same again." Clint told him, laughing a little. "Especially if you have a little girl."
"God." Tony muttered, shaking his head. "I never had the best father figure. So, how am I supposed to pull this off?"
"By being the man Natasha sees." Clint told him. "It's as simple as that."
"I'm going to work on reversing those Accords you know that right?" Tony asked him after a moment.
"Family comes first, Stark. Don't forget that." Clint warned.
"You are family, you know that right?" Tony asked, shocking the archer.
"Hey boys?" Laura called as she walked in the barn.
"Hey honey." Clint responded, recovering quickly. "What's up?"
"Fury wants to see you, I think he is leaving." Laura said.
The three of them began to walk towards the house in silence, but Tony being Tony could not enjoy the silence.
"This feels like a messed up version of 'Meet the Parents'." Tony said with sarcasm lacing every word.
"Just glad I'm not in your shoes, Laura and I were already married when we were expecting Cooper, and Laura's father is a banker not the former leader of a spy organization." Clint teased.
"Not making me feel any better here Barton." Tony grumbled.
"Hey, you were the one who made the smart ass movie reference." Clint defended.
When they got inside Fury and Maria were already packing up their gear. Tony walked over to where Natasha sat in one of the Barton's oversized arm chair, and sat on the arm of the chair. He placed his hand between her shoulder blades and she relaxed into his touch.
The last three months felt like three years, and neither party was going to let go again. Natasha realized just how stupid her actions were and she was not in the mood to repeat those mistakes ever again.
"Sure we can't convince you to stay for a little bit longer?" Natasha asked the pair.
"Unfortunately not." Maria told her. "We were taking care of business before and now it is time to get back to it."
The woman walked over and bent down to hug Natasha, Fury doing the same. He turned to Tony and extended his hand, Tony grabbed it and Fury yanked him in so harshly that he almost fell off the chair.
"You hurt them, they will never find the body." He hissed quietly.
Tony simply nodded, his face going as white as a ghost. Natasha and Maria shared a small smile at that.
"Understood." Tony finally found his voice. "Thank you for helping Nick." Tony said sincerely.
"Anytime." Fury said and nodded curtly.
The two former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents made their way around the room and began saying good-bye to everyone else. Tony caught Steve's eye and motioned for him to meet him outside. Tony leant down and kissed the corner of Natasha's mouth.
"Be right back...again." He teased.
"I'll hold you to that." She teased and he stood up and went on the porch.
"So, where is the wind going to take you old man?" Tony asked as he came to stop beside Steve.
"To be honest?" Steve asked rhetorically. "I have no clue, for the first time in three months I have no plan."
"Well I have an idea." Tony began and Steve looked at him, the look in his eyes imploring Tony to continue. "For starters, you can man up and kiss Maximoff."
Steve blushed and looked away, causing Tony to laugh. Both men went silent and stiff when Fury and Hill came out on the porch.
"Gentlemen." Hill teased and walked down the steps, not looking back as she got in the passenger seat of the car.
"Good luck Fury." Tony said sincerely.
"Same to you two." Fury bid farewell, following the direction Hill went and got on the driver's side.
The two superheroes did not begin talking until they could no longer hear the car. Call it a force of habit, but Tony was not going to talk about anything as long as he could see or hear those two.
"All I am saying is," Tony continued. "I spent the last three months looking for the woman I love and those months proved just how much I took her presence for granted and vise-versa."
"When did you get like this?" Steve asked in mock horror and the two men shared a smile.
"I think it was about a year and three months ago." Tony joked.
"I'm really happy for you Tony." Steve admitted.
"Thank you Cap." Tony said honestly. "You know, I am going to try every day to reverse the Accords, even if it kills me."
"Try to not let it come to that, you got a family to think of now." Steve reminded him.
"Well, I will at least send you low-key missions when I get my hands on them." Tony said.
"That sounds great." Steve accepted.
"I will work on those Accords though." Tony concluded.
"There's no way I am going to be able to talk you out of this, is there?" Steve asked.
"Nope." Tony said, popping the 'p'.
"Take care Tony." Steve said, extending his hand.
"You too Rogers." Tony replied, shaking his hand.
—
Later that night, Tony and Natasha both laid in bed that night, neither falling asleep despite their efforts. Sure they had worked themselves up enough that night to guarantee them fifty years of sleep, but now they just sat there.
"I was thinking." Tony whispered.
"About?" Natasha said and turned so that she was facing him.
"There really is no need for me to stay here at the facility. I only need to be here every once and a while to check on things and make sure Vision didn't burn the place down. Rhodes can take over on managing it day-to-day..."
"Tony." Natasha cut him off. "What are you trying to say?"
"Before coming to get you I was looking out over Clint's farm and suddenly saw what he sees and I want it." Tony explained. "I want a nice house in the middle of no where to raise our family with you."
"Tony." Natasha said, shocked.
"What do you say?" He asked.
Natasha searched his brown eyes with her green ones and a smile spread slowly across her face. She leaned over and kissed him slowly.
"Let's do it." She whispered after she broke the kiss.
"Yeah?" Tony asked.
"Yeah." Natasha confirmed.
—
Steve pulled an old white t-shirt on after he got out of the shower. The bright side of this was, Tony gave him a credit card that allowed him to get a pretty nice room and Ross would be none the wiser. Pulling out the shaving cream and the razor, he turned the water on.
As the water ran, he stared down at the razor, maybe it was time for Captain America to finally disappear. He turned off the faucet and set the materials down and walked back into the room.
Wanda sat on her bed reading a book she had received from Laura. Steve found himself blushing as he saw the slightly scandalous picture on the cover. Tony's words came flooding back into his brain.
"Steve?" Wanda called and his gaze refocused and he saw her smirking at him. "Want to tell me what you are thinking?"
"You had the chance to go with Sam and Sharon." He reminded her. "Why didn't you?"
"Because I didn't want to be stuck as a third wheel for the foreseeable future." Wanda said and stood up, setting her book down on the night stand. "And in the end," She walked towards him. "there was something I wanted more."
"And what was that?" Steve asked, they were now toe to toe.
"You." She whispered and leant up, placing her lips softly on his.
Steve stood frozen and eventually pushed her back a little bit. Her eyes searched his and when Steve didn't see any regret in her eyes, he did what Tony suggested...
He kissed her.
—
Tony sighed as he ushered the reporters into the room, they were constantly asking him ridiculous questions.
'Wait till next week when they figure out I am done.'
Tony smirked at the thought. In the corner of his eye he saw a flash of strawberry-blonde and turned to see Pepper there in a simple black skirt and a forest-green tank top. He walked over by her and she smiled at him.
"Hey." He greeted, it was still slightly awkward.
"Hi." She responded. "You look better." Pepper observed.
"I feel better." He told her honestly, and his watch then beeped. "Hey, the kid's here. I'm going to go get him."
"Okay." She said softly and watched him exit the room, and turned towards the room full of reporters.
He walked down the hall, taking the long way, allowing the kid to explore the facility a little bit.
"You don't see that everyday." Tony heard Happy tell Peter.
"Oh, there they are." Tony said, smiling.
Peter noticed that Tony looked better, and he saw the relief on Happy's face.
"How's...?" Happy started.
"Everyone is fine." Tony informed Happy before turning back to Peter. "Give me a minute with the kid."
"Seriously?" Happy asked.
"Yeah." Tony said, as if it was obvious. "I gotta talk to the kid." Tony said a little bit more forcefully.
"I'll be close behind." Happy informed him.
"How 'bout a loose follow?" Tony asked. "All right? Boundaries are good."
He walked up and lightly punched Peter in the arm, still smiling, and then placed his arm around the kid. They then began walking.
"Sorry I took your suit." Tony apologized. "I mean, you had it coming. Actually, it turns out it was the perfect sort of tough-love moment you needed, right? To urge you on, right? Don't you think?"
"I guess." Peter mumbled.
"Let's just say it was." Tony said.
"Mr. Stark, I really..." Peter began.
"You screwed the pooch hard, big time." Tony interrupted. "But then you did the right thing." Tony reminded him. "Took the dog to the free clinic, you raised the hybrid puppies..." Tony smiled as he felt a familiar presence.
He looked into his glasses as he talked to the kid and saw a familiar blonde watching him from the balcony.
"All right, not my best analogy." Tony considered. "I was wrong about you. I think, with a little more mentoring, you could be a real asset to the team."
"T-To th-the...To the team?" Peter stuttered.
"Yeah." Tony responded. "Anyway, there's about fifty reporters behind that door. Real ones, not bloggers." Tony clicked his watch and the doors in front of them opened. "When you're ready..." Tony began as the new suit he designed was shown. "...why don't you try that on? And I'll introduce the world to the newest, official, member of the Avengers: Spider-Man."
"I..." Peter began and then began to stutter and laugh.
"Yeah, give that a look." Tony said. "So, after the press conference, Happy will show you to your room, your new quarters. Where's he between? He's next to Vision?"
"Yeah, Vision's not big on doors." Happy told him.
"It's fun." Tony teased.
"Or walls." Happy continued.
"You'll fit right in." Tony assured him.
Peter turned around and looked Tony in the eye, before looking back at the suit, and then turning to Tony again.
"Thank you, Mr. Stark." Peter said. "But I-I'm good."
"You're good?" Tony asked, confused. "G-Good...?" Now it was Tony's turn to stutter. "How are you good?" He asked,
"Well, I-I mean, I'd rather just stay on the ground for a little while. Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man." Peter explained. "Somebody's gotta look out for the little guy, right?"
Tony pulled off his glasses, disbelief clear in his eyes.
"You turning me down?" He asked. "You better think about this. Look at that." He told Peter, pointing to the suit. "Look at me. Last chance. Yes or no?"
"No." Peter said confidently and Tony felt his heart swell a little bit.
"Okay." Tony said, accepting his choice. "It's kind of a Springsteen-y, working-class hero vibe that I dig." Tony brushed it off, trying to make the kid not feel guilty about his choice. "Uh, Happy will take you home. Yeah?"
"Yeah." Happy responded, proud of Peter as well. "Mind waiting in the car?" He asked Peter. "I need a minute."
"Thank you, Mr. Stark." Peter said.
"Yes, Mr. Parker, very well." Tony said and shook Peter's hand.
"See you around." Peter told him.
"Okay." Tony said as the kid began to walk away.
"That was a test, right?" Peter asked.
For a moment, Tony was confused and stood there with his hands clasped behind his back.
"There's nobody back there?" Peter elaborated.
"Yes, you passed." Tony agreed, playing along. "All right skedaddle there, young buck."
"Thank you, Mr. Stark." Peter said again, going towards the exit. "Thank you."
"Yeah, thank you." Tony called after him.
"Told you he's a good kid." Happy smiled.
Tony simply held his hands up in an 'I told you so' state and smiled. Pepper suddenly burst out from where all the reporters were waiting.
"Where's the kid?" Pepper asked.
"He left." Happy told her.
"Everybody's waiting." Pepper reminded him.
"You know what, he actually made a very mature choice." Tony told her. "It just surprised the heck out of us."
"Did you guys screw this up?" Pepper asked, and Tony was beginning to thank who ever was listening for getting him out of that relationship.
"He told the kid to go wait in the car." Tony tattled like a five year old, pointing to Happy.
"Are you kidding me?" Pepper exclaimed and Happy looked very uncomfortable as he tried to come up with an explanation. "I have a room full of people in there waiting for some big announcement. What will I tell them?"
"Think of somethin'. How 'bout...um..." Tony trailed off as he tried to think.
He looked over at the balcony and saw the woman he loved with her hands lightly caressing her stomach and he got an idea,
"I got somethin'." Tony said suddenly. "Come on." He said and walked over to the door. "After you."
He held it open for an angry Pepper, and after she walked through, he let it close and turned to Happy.
"You're leaving, aren't you?" Happy asked.
"Hey, I will still be available if the world is going to end and what not." Tony explained to one of his oldest friends.
"Good luck man." Happy smiled and brought Tony in for a hug.
"Thanks." Tony said. "And take care of the kid." Tony called at Happy's retreating figure.
"I will." The other man called back.
Tony turned and walked into the room and the cameras flared to life and all the reporters began asking questions. Pepper stood off to the side and just by her face Tony could tell she already was over the kid leaving and confused about Tony's plan.
"Seven years ago I said a very important statement, 'I am Iron Man.'" Tony began after everyone calmed down. "But this road doesn't go on forever, and it's time for me to get off it."
Everyone began going crazy once more, and Tony stole a glance at Pepper, who looked very shocked.
"I will still be here for if the world ends and, knock on wood, it won't." He knocked lightly on the podium after everyone calmed down again. "But it is time for me to focus on a new point in my life. No more questions." Tony said even though no one had asked any in the first place. "Thank you."
He walked away from all the reporters screaming for him to come back and asking their questions. Tony didn't turn back once, in fact, he felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders. This was going to be the best way to spend the rest of his life, with his beautiful girlfriend and the child they now shared.