(A/N: Okay, yeah, it's been a bit... sorry about that. I'm dropping in with a MASSIVE epilogue for Tony and Pepper, so I hope you'll forgive me. Also, I have set myself up for a continuity nightmare with these epilogues, so please excuse that as well LOL. Without further ado, I give you the second to last epilogue! Enjoy!)
*
"Tony, I swear on all things good in this world, if your ass is not here in 10 minutes, I will personally make sure you and Pepper never procreate."
"Well good morning to you too, sunshine," Tony grinned, answering the call.
"Tony," Natasha growled on the other end of the line. "Where the hell are you?"
"Somewhere over the Atlantic at the moment. But don't get your leather pants in a wad, I'll be back in a few minutes. I just had to pick up a few things."
"Pick up a few things? Over the ocean?" Tony could practically hear the eye roll on the other end of the line.
"Without Pepper in bed beside me last night I couldn't sleep, so I made a quick trip to Paris this morning in the suit to a café that she likes. Picked up some breakfast that I'll have someone drop off to her."
"You are absolutely ridiculous, did you know that?"
"You might have told me once or twice," Tony grinned, knowing that he was succeeding in irritating her.
"Just get here before Bruce starts hulking out. I think there's some sort of rule against the groom leaving the country the day of his wedding."
"I can see the Tower from here. I'll be there in about 83 seconds, give or take the amount of time I have to wait on the elevator."
"Goodbye Tony."
He chuckled to himself as the call disconnected and the suit soared towards Stark Tower.
He had barely had any time to land before Bruce was storming out on to the roof towards him.
"Are you out of your mind?" He shouted.
"Good morning Bruce," Tony greeted as he stepped out of the suit, careful as he held the box with Pepper's breakfast inside.
"You can't just fly to Paris on the morning of your wedding!"
"Funny, I think Natasha just told me the same thing, and yet, here I am," Tony shrugged. "Now, where's Harry at? I was going to have him run this over to Pepper's room for me."
"He's getting dressed right now, which is what you should be doing," Bruce began ushering Tony into the elevator.
"I've got an hour and a half until we need to be there. It'll all be okay, that's plenty of time."
"Says that man who spends 45 minutes getting ready on a normal morning," Bruce muttered.
"What, you think all of this comes natural?" Tony waved a hand in front of his face for emphasis. "It doesn't hurt anyone to establish a skin care routine."
The ding of the elevator sounded and Tony thought he heard Bruce mutter something along the lines of "saved by the bell."
"I'll take this and personally deliver it to Pepper. Right now, I need you to go get in the shower and start getting ready," Bruce instructed, pushing Tony towards his room.
Tony put his hands up and the air and made his way down the hall. When he entered his room, he was surprised to find Harry sitting on his bed.
"Hey kiddo, what's up?"
Harry looked up at him with a smile, but Tony could see in his eyes that something was bothering him.
"Hey dad. Happy wedding day."
"Thank you," Tony took a seat besides his son and positioned himself to where he was fully facing Harry. "Everything alright with you?"
"Just a little overwhelmed, so I came in here for a moment. Hope you don't mind."
"You know I don't," Tony reassured. "Anything I can help with?"
Harry gave him another small smile as he shook his head. "Nah, it's alright. Just a lot happening all at once and I needed to take a minute. I'll be okay here in a bit."
"Alright, you're welcome to stay as long as you want. I'm just under strict orders to take a shower and make it snappy, so I'm going to head into the bathroom."
"You should have seen Bruce and Natasha trying to figure out where you were this morning," Harry chuckled. "Especially once Natasha figured out that one of your suits was gone."
"I can imagine," Tony laughed.
"They probably thought you got cold feet at the last minute," Harry commented, shaking his head. "Instead, you were doing the most extravagantly romantic small gesture that anyone could think of."
"I do have an image to uphold."
The two of them laughed to themselves and Tony rose to his feet, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder and giving it a small squeeze.
"Now, I'm serious when I saw I have to get going. We don't need to meet the Other Guy today just because I am not following the minute-by-minute playbook."
*
"I never got a chance to say thank you for breakfast this morning," Pepper spoke softly as the two of them swayed back and forth on the dance floor.
"Only the best for my wife," Tony's eyes crinkled at the edges as he smiled.
"Hmm, I like the sound of that," Pepper replied, leaning in to kiss her husband.
"My wife," Tony whispered in her ear as he ghosted kisses on her cheek. Pepper giggled, and Tony wished he could bottle how they were feeling-- it would sell for millions.
It had been about 8 hours since the start of the reception and the ballroom was beginning to clear out. Tony estimated that it was probably almost midnight, but he wasn't tired at all. In fact, he didn't think he had ever felt more awake.
"I think we're the only ones who still have enough energy to dance," Pepper commented as if reading his mind. Around the edges of the dance floor, the guests who were still milling around had found seats in an attempt to rest their aching feet that had been subjected to dress shoes for the entire day. Harry and Peter were seated at a table near the food and both boys looked like they could fall asleep at any minute.
Steve and Bruce were attempting to tidy things up to make the lives of the clean up crew a little bit easier, and Bucky was chatting with Clint and Natasha, the former having untied his tie shortly after the dancing began, and the latter of whom had ditched her stilettos hours ago.
"I'd say we know how to throw quite the party," Tony remarked, looking at the state of the place.
"You always have," Pepper grinned, and Tony blushed at memories of parties that he had held at his mansion in Malibu.
"We don't need to talk about that," he brushed it off with a shake of his head, earning another giggle from Pepper.
"Can you believe it took us 13 years to finally do this?" Pepper asked, smoothing out a nonexistent wrinkle in Tony's jacket.
"Remember when we thought this was just going to be a small ordeal? No fuss?" Tony teased and she gave him a playful shove.
"That was before Harry started helping plan," she grinned, glancing towards their son who had officially fallen asleep with his head resting on Peter's shoulder.
"All bets were out the window then, weren't they?" Tony laughed. "I'm glad we did it this way though."
"Me too," Pepper agreed.
"I love you tons, Virginia Potts," Tony murmured, and she smiled.
"That's Virginia Stark to you," she teased, but she leaned in and gave him another kiss. "And I love you... 3000."
"3000?" Tony laughed. "That's an awfully big number. Are you sure?"
"It was the first number that popped into my head, okay?" Pepper laughed. "And yes, I'm sure."
"Well who am I to argue with my wife about how much she loves me?"
"Exactly," she concluded, and they both continued to laugh. As the ballroom continued to clear out and the DJ announced that he was playing the final song, the two continued to dance. As the final note played, Tony wrapped his arm around Pepper's waist and they made their way off of the dance floor and stopped to thank the rest of the team who had stuck around until the reception was over.
After being reassured that everything was taken care of, the newlyweds made their way out of the ballroom. As they walked together towards the elevator, Tony just shook his head and looked at Pepper.
"What?" She inquired, giving him a curious look.
"Man..." he began. "3000."
She rolled her eyes with a smile and stepped into the elevator.
"That's crazy," he finished, and she pulled him into the elevator behind her.
*
(Four months later-- September)
"It's your senior year of high school, Peter, yes you have to go to homecoming," Bucky emphasized.
"I do not have a great record with homecoming dances, and I would really rather not go to another one," Peter groaned. From the other end of the kitchen island, Tony raised his hand.
"Um, yeah, I will agree with the kid on this one."
Peter turned to look at Tony, slight amusement in his expression. "It might not have been quite as dramatic if you hadn't taken my suit."
"I promise you Pete, neither one of us wants to reopen this argument," Tony responded, taking a bite of his pancakes. Peter nodded and took a bite of his own, sealing the truce agreement.
"I told him that I'll do whatever he wants to do," Harry shrugged. "I don't have the greatest track record with dances myself. It would save both of us loads of time and energy to do something else that night."
"And that is why I love you," Peter smiled around his fork as he took another bite of his pancakes.
Pepper entered the kitchen and smiled at everyone. She walked over and gave Tony a kiss on the forehead and then rounded the island to where Harry was flipping a pancake and pressed a kiss to his temple as well.
"Good morning," Harry greeted. "Do you want any pancakes before you go?"
Pepper bit her lip and seemed to grow a bit paler at the offer.
"I'm alright, I'm in a bit of a rush this morning. I just came to grab some tea before my meeting, thank you though."
"I've poured you a cup there," Harry motioned towards the thermos that was already prepared for her, and she gave him a grateful smile.
"Thanks hon," she gave his shoulder a light squeeze before making her way back out of the kitchen.
Tony watched her as she exited the room, noting that something seemed off. He debated following her, but decided not to hover. Sometimes, though, he worried about dumping too much on her plate as the CEO. Over the past few weeks she had seemed especially worn thin, despite the fact that he didn't think there was anything abnormal on the schedule. Perhaps it was just effects of stress from years piling up.
He tried to push the thought to the back of his mind, but he made a mental note to bring it up with her later in a tactful way that didn't come off as if he thought she was incapable.
"Harry, this was great. I can clean up while you sit down and eat," Tony rose from his seat, trying to take his mind off of things before he worked himself up too much.
"That's okay," Harry shook his head, "I've got it."
He grinned and snapped his fingers and things began magically flying back into place, dirty plates and utensils immediately clean. Tony let out a low whistle.
"That will never not amaze me."
Harry laughed as he took a seat next to Peter. From the table behind them, Bucky and Steve rose to their feet.
"We're going to go get ready and then run some errands today. Do you guys need anything while we're out?" Steve offered.
"I'm alright, thanks though," Tony replied, and Peter and Harry echoed the same sentiment. "I'm going to go head down to the shop to work on some stuff for a bit."
He made his way down the hallway and into the elevator. The doors had barely closed when his phone rang. Seeing that it was one of the associates in Pepper's morning meeting, he frowned but answered the call.
"Mr. Stark?" The voice on the other line didn't wait for him to answer, voice sounding hurried. Tony immediately pressed the button for Pepper's floor as he answered.
"What's going on?"
"I'm here in the meeting with Pepper and she's just collapsed. She says she's fine, but-"
"I'm on my way," Tony interrupted, heart pounding. As if she read his mind, FRIDAY increased the speed of the elevator. When he reached the 23rd floor, he took off in a run towards the conference room.
He was aware of how concerning this must have looked to other employees in the office, seeing Tony Stark himself sprinting through the office wearing stained jeans and a ratty band t-shirt. But he didn't care. He was only focused on figuring out what was happening with his wife.
He flew into the conference room to find a very pale Pepper sitting in an office chair, 10 very hesitant and uncomfortable looking business men surrounding her.
"Pepper?" Tony breathed a sigh of relief, hurrying around to her. He hadn't been sure what he was about to walk in to, but seeing her conscious and looking slightly irritated made him feel slightly reassured.
"What happened, Pep?" He placed a hand on her face, brushing a piece of hair away.
"I'm fine Tony, I didn't even pass out," she reassured, shooting an annoyed look towards one of her colleagues.
"Oh yeah, I forgot, you just collapsed. That makes me feel way better," while sarcastic, his words held no bite. Pepper could hear undertones of concern in his voice.
"I just got really dizzy all of a sudden and I didn't make it to a chair fast enough, that's all. I've been feeling a little under the weather this morning."
"Once you feel steady enough to go, we're heading to the Medbay to get you checked out. You're not arguing me on this," Tony told her, shocked when she met him with no argument.
"I think I'm alright to go now," she replied. Suddenly, she became acutely aware that she was in the middle of a business meeting. She straightened out her posture and looked around the room. "My apologies everyone. We will reschedule this for another time soon."
"No worries, Mrs. Stark," the associate who had phoned Tony responded. "You just take care of yourself. We can wait."
There was a mumbled of agreeance throughout the room, and Tony made a note to personally thank all of them later. Now, however, there was only one thing on his mind.
"Let me help you up," Tony offered. Pepper accepted, and he pulled her to her feet slowly, wrapping an arm around her waist to steady her when she swayed for a second. Her face grew even more pale and for a second, Tony was afraid she was about to pass out. She closed her eyes for a moment and some of the color returned to her face.
"Let's go," she whispered to him. Tony knew that she was embarrassed, but she was handling the situation with poise.
They slowly made their way through the office, people pretending to be busy to avoid staring. Even still, Tony could feel their wandering eyes as they made their way into the elevator.
Once the doors closed, Pepper sagged against the wall, blowing out a deep breath.
"You getting sick on me, Potts?" Tony looked, sympathy on his face.
"I don't know," she blew out a breath and stood up a little bit straighter.
"Let's get that figured out, yeah?"
Pepper nodded, glancing at her husband. He could be so soft with her; it was a side that very few people ever got to see. Most people only knew the self-confident, witty billionaire public persona that he put on, not the soft, patient and caring husband, father and friend that he was 90% of the time.
When they arrived at the Medbay, Dr. Cho glanced up at them from her desk. She rose to her feet and motioned to a bed for Pepper to take a seat.
"What brings you in this morning, Pepper?" Helen asked as she started taking Pepper's vitals.
"I've been feeling under the weather this morning and I just got dizzy in my meeting," she explained.
"And she collapsed," Tony added, earning a dirty look from Pepper.
"That feels a little dramatic, don't you think?"
"You fell after being dizzy. That sounds dramatic enough to me," Tony quipped back.
"Your blood pressure is a little low, which could explain the dizziness. Have you eaten anything this morning?" Helen questioned, and Tony shot Pepper a look.
"No, I was in a hurry. And to be honest, I wasn't sure that I'd be able to keep anything down if I ate. Like I said, I've not been feeling well."
"Alright, well I'd like to get a urine sample from you and then get you started on some IV fluids to help bring up your blood pressure. Are you still feeling nauseous?"
"A little bit," Pepper replied sheepishly, completely avoiding looking at Tony.
"I'll get you an antiemetic as well. I'll be right back."
"You don't have to stay down here with me. I'll just get the fluids and head back-"
"Don't you dare say you'll head back to work," Tony interrupted.
"Back upstairs to take a nap," Pepper narrowed her eyes at him.
"Either way, I'm not going to leave you here on your own. I can wait an hour, or however long you're down here."
Helen returned holding a specimen cup, a bag of IV fluids and an IV start kit. She handed the specimen cup to Pepper and directed her to the restroom, and began prepping her supplies.
"Do you think it's possible that maybe she's just run herself too thin?" Tony questioned once Pepper had disappeared. He felt guilty that maybe all of the stress of being his CEO had caught up to her and this was a culmination of years of overtime and constant working. It's not that he didn't think she could handle it-- because she obviously could-- but he still worried.
"It's possible, but I highly doubt it. Sometimes people just get sick or feel under the weather. But we'll run a few tests and figure out what's going on," she gave him a reassuring smile. "I know you're just worried about her, but try not to stress yourself out too much, okay?"
"Okay," Tony gave her a small, thankful smile as Pepper returned. Helen quickly got her IV started, administered the antiemetic, and began the fluid bolus.
An hour later, Pepper was nearly asleep when the IV pump beeped, signaling the completion of the fluids. Tony, who had tracked down his Stark pad, looked up from what he was working on as Helen entered the room.
"Are you feeling any better?" She asked Pepper, who gave her a tired smile.
"A lot better, thank you."
Helen quickly removed Pepper's IV before taking a seat in front of the married couple, giving them a smile.
"I think I've figured out what's going on," she began, and Tony sat up a little bit straighter.
"You're pregnant," Helen smiled. Pepper's eyes widened, and Tony froze for a moment before turning to look at his wife.
Despite her expression of shock, a smile was blooming across her face. She let out a small laugh before turning to Tony.
"Oh my god," Tony whispered to himself. But then he was on his feet, arms around Pepper as he embraced her tightly with a laugh.
"Oh my god! Pep!" They both laughed gleefully.
"Congratulations to you both," Helen spoke. "I'll give you a few minutes to digest and then I'll be back here in a bit to discuss it a little bit more with you."
The couple nodded, but they couldn't quit staring at one another.
"We're going to have a baby?" Tony questioned, feeling tears of happiness build up in his eyes.
"We're going to have a baby," Pepper confirmed, her eyes also glistening with tears.
"Wow," he whispered, placing a hand on her stomach.
"Harry is going to be so excited," Pepper laughed.
"He is going to spoil her rotten," Tony grinned. "The whole team is."
"Her?" Pepper gave him an amused look and he shrugged.
"I just have a feeling it's a girl."
"I love you," she leaned in and kissed him.
"I love you tons," he replied with a small smirk. She gave him a knowing smile and placed a hand on his cheek.
"I love you 3000."
*
Harry looked up when he heard a knock at his door.
"It's open," he called. He smiled when the door opened and revealed both Tony and Pepper.
"Hey kid," Tony greeted. "You got a second?"
"Yeah, yeah, come in," Harry sat up. The two made their way into his room and Pepper took a seat on the end of his bed, Tony leaning on the bedpost behind her.
"We wanted to talk to you about something," Tony started with a smile. "And we wanted to tell you separately before telling the team because we wanted you to be the first to know."
Harry's heart sped up a little bit, but his anxieties were soothed slightly by how calm Tony appeared.
"Okay," he spoke slowly. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, absolutely. Everything is great," Tony responded quickly. He glanced at Pepper who grabbed his hand reassuringly.
"I'm pregnant," she said.
Harry was shocked for a moment. Out of all of the things he thought they were about to say, that was not one of them.
Tony gave Pepper's hand a tight squeeze when Harry froze. He didn't think Harry would react negatively to the news, but he had been slightly worried that he would feel that he was going to be replaced or pushed to the side, which couldn't be farther from the truth.
"You're going to have a baby?" Harry broke the silence. Pepper nodded, a small smile on her face.
Harry's face broke out into a wide grin.
"You're going to have a baby!" He leapt across the bed and threw his arms around his mom in a hug.
"I'm so happy for you," he was beaming as he pulled away from her. Tony stepped forward and Harry wrapped his arms around his dad in a hug as well.
"I've always wanted a sibling, and I'm so excited that I'll finally have one."
Tony's heart swelled with pride at the thoughts of his kids-- his kids-- together. He knew that Harry would be the best older brother that this baby could ask for. Harry would make sure that his sibling's childhood was nothing but wonderful and full of love. And he couldn't wait for the two of them to meet.
"We wanted you to be the first to know, but we knew that we wouldn't be able to keep it a secret for very long," Pepper explained. "We're actually going to tell the team this afternoon."
"That's why you didn't take breakfast this morning!" Harry exclaimed, putting the pieces together. Usually she would at least grab something easy to eat on the go when she was running late, but she had seemed disgusted by the idea of food this morning.
Pepper cringed with a nod, remembering how she had felt earlier in the morning.
"How have you been feeling?" He grew serious for a moment.
"I've been okay until today, but it's still pretty early on. Dr. Cho said it might get a bit worse over the next few weeks, but hopefully nothing too bad," Pepper gave him a soft smile.
"Good," Harry nodded, and his smile returned. "I'm so excited for you both."
"Thanks kiddo," Tony reached out and ruffled Harry's unruly hair, earning a laugh from the teen. "Now, I'm going to need your help recording the team's reaction when we tell them. I think it might cause them to blow a gasket."
This caused all three of them to laugh, and Harry nodded in agreement.
"They're going to freak out."
*
"Anyone have any idea of what is going on?" Bucky asked as he and Steve entered the living room. Tony had called an emergency team meeting, which was usually not a good thing.
"I'm not sure, he wouldn't tell me," Bruce replied.
"The message didn't give us a whole lot to work with in terms of guessing what this is about," Natasha agreed. "But I haven't heard anything from Fury. So unless Tony has decided to go rogue-- which is never entirely out of the question-- it can't be that bad, right?"
Pepper and Tony entered the room together, Harry following behind them. Immediately, Tony was assaulted with questions from everyone.
"What's going on?"
"Did something happen?"
"Do we need to suit up?"
"We didn't hear anything from S.H.I.E.L.D. Is everything okay?"
Tony held up his hands to silence everyone. He motioned for everyone to take a seat and then perched himself on the arm of the chair that Pepper had settled into. Harry rounded the couch that Peter was seated on and pulled out his phone, subtly starting to video the group.
"Before everyone starts freaking out, no, there's no mission," Tony began. There was a murmur of relief throughout the room.
"Pepper and I have an announcement to make," Tony continued, and he placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a shoulder a small squeeze.
"Well," she smiled. "I'm pregnant."
The room erupted into chaos. There were cheers from everyone, and Peter leapt to his feet to hug Pepper and Tony. When he was finished, he turned to Harry with a shocked expression, laughing when he saw the excitement on Harry's face.
Harry finished recording and returned the phone to his pocket as Peter came over and gave him a hug as well.
"You're going to be a big brother," Peter whispered to him excitedly, and Harry beamed.
Across the room, Pepper and Tony watched as everyone celebrated and congratulated them. Tony wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulders and hugged her tight against him.
"We've got an amazing family, don't we?" Pepper murmured to him, and he hummed in agreement.
"Damn right we do."
*
(Six months later-- March)
"Tony? What are you still doing up? It's 2 in the morning."
Tony glanced up at Steve, a slight expression of panic on his face. At seeing this, the super soldier sat in the chair beside him.
"Are you okay?"
Tony ran a hand through his hair, giving a slight tug at the ends. Steve had to bite back a smile, noting that this was the same action that Peter did when he was stressed about something. He couldn't help but wonder which of them had picked up the action from the other.
"There's just so much that can go wrong," Tony blew out a deep breath, scrolling on the screen of his tablet.
"I assume you're talking about the baby?"
"Have you ever realized how dangerous this place is?" Tony exclaimed, gesturing around the penthouse.
"Every day of my life," Steve chuckled dryly, trying to suppress his smile when he saw that Tony did not share the same amusement.
"I'm serious, there are so many things that can go wrong in a home without iron man suits and lasers and magic and highly trained super soldiers and ex-assassins-"
"Who are all here to protect, not harm," Steve reminded, but Tony continued.
"But reading that things like dressers and outlets and even goddamn toilets are dangerous? I'm fucking terrified Steve."
Steve reached out and gently removed the tablet from Tony's hands, turning it off and setting it down on the table. He then placed a hand on Tony's shoulder and gave it a tight squeeze.
"You can't baby proof the world, Tones."
"I know, I just-"
"This is the world we live in. And sometimes, shit happens. Sometimes life deals you a shit hand, and you just have to deal with it. Parents can protect you as much as they want, but sometimes things still happen. Illness, and war, and planes that crash into the ocean and freeze you for 70 years. My ma was the fiercest protector and she couldn't save me from those things."
"You suck at pep talks."
"Would ya let me finish?" Tony responded with a 'humph' of agreement.
"You can baby proof the little things, like covers on the outlets, anchoring dressers to the wall, and putting child-proof locks on the toilet seats-- once they start crawling," he emphasized, knowing Tony well enough to know that if he didn't choose his words carefully, they would all be living with locks on the toilet seat lids for the next four years.
"But you have to accept that everything else is out of your control. No matter how much you wish you control the outside world, you'll never be able to do that completely."
Tony let out a ragged sigh and Steve gave him a scrutinizing look.
"What's really going on?"
"I just.... I look at everything that happened with Harry, even while he's been with me," Tony paused and Steve could tell that he trying to swallow back tears.
"What if I let her down too?"
That was all Steve could take. He wrapped his arms around Tony in a hug and squeezed him tightly for a moment before breaking away. Tony huffed in a deep breath in an attempt to shake away the emotion.
"Listen to me," Steve spoke, voice low but clear. "You have never let Harry down. Ever. I've seen you with him, and he is your kid. You love him unconditionally just like a father should. And you would sacrifice yourself in a heartbeat if it meant sparing him any sort of pain and suffering. If you show your daughter even a fraction of the love that you've shown Harry, she will grow up knowing how important and loved she is. I promise you that."
It was Tony's turn to reach out and squeeze Steve's shoulder, unable to manage words. A comfortable moment of silence passed between them before the corner of Steve's lips turned up.
"So a daughter, huh?"
"Don't you dare say a word to Pepper. We agreed we weren't going to tell anyone until she's here."
"My lips are sealed," Steve smirked.
"Good, because there's only one thing that terrifies me more than bringing a child into this world," Tony laughed.
"What's that?"
"A pissed off Pepper Potts."
*
(Two months later-- May)
"Welcome home Morgan," Tony murmured in a sing-song voice, carrying his daughter into the penthouse, swaddled in one arm. His other hand rested on Pepper's lower back as they slowly entered the living room.
"Here you are, my dear," Tony helped his wife get seated on the couch, propping no less than 3 pillows behind her.
"Do you need anything? Water, a snack, a blanket...?"
Pepper gave him a smile and reached out to grab Morgan from him. He gently placed his daughter into his wife's arms, hands finding their way to Pepper's face to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes.
"I would love some water, thank you. And I know that Harry and Peter are hanging out around here somewhere, if you want to go get them." Pepper smiled down at their daughter who was sleeping peacefully. She figured that she'd better savor this moment because if Morgan took after her father at all, her many hours of sleep would not last throughout the night.
Tony pressed a kiss against the top of her head and disappeared down the hallway to find Peter and Harry, who he knew were anxiously awaiting their arrival home so that they could hold Morgan.
When he reached Harry's door, he knocked softly. His knuckles had barely left the door when it flew open to reveal two anxious teenagers, looking like kids on Christmas.
Tony laughed and motioned towards the bathroom. "Go wash your hands."
Both boys took off running towards the bathroom and Tony remembered why he had put Jack and Jill sinks in all of the guest bedrooms of the penthouse. Both boys were competitive and he didn't need them wrestling to get to the sink first.
"We're in the living room when you're finished!" He called out to them before turning and heading into the kitchen to fix Pepper a glass of water.
"I think that they may be excited," Tony told Pepper as he returned, setting the glass of water on a coaster on the table.
"I'm really glad." Pepper gave him a tired smile. He knew that she had been worried that Harry may be uncomfortable at first, even though he had told them repeatedly how excited he was. They just worried that he would think that, just because Morgan was biologically their child, he wouldn't matter as much-- and that was far from the truth.
Hurried footsteps came from the hallway and both Harry and Peter appeared. They had met Morgan briefly after she was born, but Pepper had requested that everyone allow her and Tony some space while she was recovering in the Medbay after Morgan was born. Everyone had been respectful and allowed the couple space to soak in time with their newborn daughter, Harry and Peter being the only two who had been in to meet her so far.
The two slowed as they rounded the corner and they slowly approached Pepper as if Morgan were a deer they were trying not to spook.
Pepper laughed softly and nodded towards the end of the couch for one of them to sit down. Peter nudged Harry and motioned for him to sit down to hold Morgan first.
Pepper sat up and carefully helped transfer Morgan into his arms. Harry couldn't believe how small she was.
"She's so tiny," he breathed, looking at his parents. Both of them were watching him with a smile.
"Hi Morgan," he whispered. "Hi! I'm your big brother."
Tony could have melted. All of his fear and apprehensions faded, instead replaced by pride and immense amounts of love. Pepper grasped his hand tightly in her own, and he knew that she was feeling the exact same way.
"We're going to be good friends, you and me. I'll teach you how to bake, and Peter can help you with your homework. I've got so much to tell you." Harry continued whispering to Morgan. Peter stood nearby, watching patiently as the love of his life spent time with his sister.
"Peter," Harry spoke a little louder, "would you like to hold her?"
Peter beamed, and Harry rose to his feet slowly. He moved carefully as not to wake his sister up. He gently passed her to Peter who took a seat in an armchair and cradled the newest member of the team close to him.
"Hello there," he cooed.
Harry turned toward his parents, noticing the smiles on their faces. He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Tony who immediately returned the hug. Harry broke away and leaned down to hug Pepper as well.
"She's perfect," he murmured to her. Pepper's eyes gleamed with tears, and she blinked them back quickly.
"You're going to be an amazing big brother," she told him as he pulled away.
Those words were enough to bring tears to Harry's eyes and he wrapped her up in another tight hug.
"I'm going to try my hardest."
*
(Four years later-- March)
*
"Peter!" Tony exclaimed, letting out a deep breath.
"Why are you winded?" Peter laughed, raising an eyebrow at his mentor.
"Have you seen Morgan? It's her bedtime and she has recently taken to playing hide and seek when it is time to go to sleep." Tony was checking under the kitchen table, in the pantry, under the island, and it was all Peter could do to not laugh.
"This is payback for all of the years I had to track you down when you ditched meetings, you know," Pepper teased as she entered the kitchen. As always, she was the vision of composure. Peter noted that spending the summer upstate in the cabin had managed to make her seem even more relaxed.
"How come she never does this for you?" Tony threw up his hands in confusion, and Peter lost the battle. He began to laugh, and Pepper turned to him with a smirk.
"That's because I know how to stick to my guns when it comes to rules."
"That's not fair! Have you seen those eyes? I'm pretty sure she has some sort of hypnotic abilities!" Tony pointed towards Peter. "Have you been giving her lessons? Because it's the same doe eyes you used to give me."
Peter held his hands up in defense. "Don't look at me!"
Tony let out a deep sigh and put his hands on his hips, looking lost. "I'm going to go check the bedrooms again."
Peter watched as Tony made his way down the hallway once more, and he glanced at Pepper who corned him with an inquisitorial stare.
"Spill it," she pressed, and Peter bit back a smile.
"Harry found Morgan about 20 minutes ago and took her to her room to put her to bed."
Pepper placed her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle, knowing that if Tony heard them laughing he would come back out and demand they tell him what they knew.
She loved the relationship their four year old had with her father, but she also knew that she had him wrapped around her finger. Every once in a while, she would try to figure out how far she could pull strings on rules without them snapping.
She learned from the best.
"I should go help him," Pepper grinned as she took a seat across from Peter at the table.
"But you're not going to?"
"Let him have a taste of his own medicine for once."
Down the hall, Tony poked his head into his and Pepper's bedroom once more, not noticing anything out of place. While the four year old was sneaky, she wasn't the best at hiding yet-- for the most part. Once he pinpointed what room in the house she was in, she was normally pretty easy to find.
He continued down the hallway, stopping when he heard Harry's voice coming from Morgan's bedroom. The door was cracked, and he peeked inside.
Morgan was tucked in and Harry sitting on the side of the bed, facing her as he told her a story.
"-the best of friends. And they got into loads of trouble. They had the record number of detentions in the school, which meant they spent a lot of nights doing stinky old chores."
"Ewww," Morgan giggled, and Harry grinned.
"But when they weren't in school, they would go on adventures. Do you remember how I told you they could turn into animals?"
"A dog, a rat, a wolf and a deer!"
"That's right, although I'm pretty sure he preferred being called a stag, because it sounds cooler," the two of them giggled.
"Whenever the moon was full, all of them would turn into animals and they would spend the night together, running around the forest and keeping each other safe."
"Did they?" Morgan fixed her eyes on Harry, suddenly looking very concerned about the outcome. Harry gave her a reassuring smile, but his eyes were a bit tighter around the edges.
"Always."
Tony knocked softly on the door, and Morgan's eyes got wide. She threw the covers over her head and disappeared under the covers.
"I'm invisible," she giggled, and Tony gave Harry a wink as he stepped forward.
"Hmm, I could have sworn that I heard Maguna in here, but I guess not.... Harry, I think we'd better sell all of her toys."
"Nooo!" She squealed, laughing and she threw the covers down to reveal herself. "I'm right here daddy!"
Tony placed a hand on his chest and took a step back in mock-surprise.
"Oh my goodness! Where did you come from?"
Harry laughed as he watched the two interact, and he rose to his feet to give Tony room to sneak in and give Morgan a goodnight kiss.
"I believe it's time for you to go to bed little miss," he tucked the covers up underneath her chin, just how she liked them.
"Goodnight Harry," she turned to her big brother, and he placed a hand on top of her head affectionately.
"Sleep well, Morgan."
"Goodnight Maguna,"Tony told her, and he planted a kiss on her forehead before standing up. "I love you tons."
"Goodnight daddy," she spoke, "I love you 3000."
Tony bit back a smile, knowing that she must have heard him and Pepper say it to one another before. He turned to Harry, who was smiling at both of them lovingly. Flipping off the light, he turned back around to Morgan.
"Wow. 3000... that's crazy," he echoed the words he had spoken to Pepper on their wedding night. From her bed, Morgan continued to giggle mischievously.
"Now go to bed, or I'll sell all your toys." Tony flipped off the light. Harry chuckled to himself as Tony closed to the door.
"She's a spitfire," Harry commented, and Tony grinned.
"Pepper says it's payback for how I used to behave."
"I think you might be getting off easy if you make that comparison," Harry gave his dad a playful nudge. Tony clutched his chest in mock offense.
"I think your mother is filling your head with fake stories."
"You keep telling yourself that."
The two made their way back out to the kitchen where they found Pepper and Peter chatting over glasses of wine.
"Hey, you have any luck?" Peter asked, shifting in his seat and opening his arms, inviting Harry to come sit on his lap. Tony and Pepper watched the two affectionately, and Tony absentmindedly began rubbing Pepper's shoulders as he stood behind her.
"I think so, but we'll see soon enough if she actually went to bed."
The four of them laughed, knowing that the four year old had a way of finding her way back out to mingle after she was supposed to be in bed. Tony always lightly scolded her, but he secretly enjoyed it when she would come join him as he was tinkering in the garage or drafting a new idea at the table.
Ever since Morgan had been able to walk, he and Pepper had decided that the best place for them to spend the spring and summer months was at the cabin. Morgan had so much energy that whenever the weather was nice, they would spend all day outside playing. Winters were spent at Stark Tower with the team, hunkering down indoors for the brutal New York falls and winters. An added bonus of the cabin was the close proximity to Clint and his growing family, which also meant frequent visits from the team.
"How is the apartment hunting going?" Tony asked, taking a seat beside his wife. Peter and Harry looked at one another and grinned.
"It's good. Really good, actually. I think we found one that we both really like." Peter grabbed Harry's hand lovingly and the two shared a loving look.
Tony smiled. A part of him hated the idea of letting Harry go, moving out into the big, dangerous world. He had barely had any time with him— only six years. Not nearly enough time compared to most other parents who had at least 18. But the other part of him knew that his son was 22 years old and was moving in with the love of his life who would never let anything happen to him. And he knew that no matter what they were doing or where they were at, Harry was just a quick pop away— literally. He knew that just because his son was moving out didn't mean he was done being his son.
"Oh yeah? Where are you thinking?"
"Actually the apartment space right above the bakery just opened up and the owner said he would be willing to rent to us for a lower price because we own the space below it. It's two bedrooms, one bathroom, has a decently sized kitchen, and lots of natural lighting," Peter explained, checking off all of their search criteria as he listed off the amenities.
A successor to Tony Stark, Peter was about to graduate with honors from MIT with a doctorate in physics and engineering in just under four years, something that took most people eight to ten years to achieve. While it had been intense and there were some weeks that Harry's weekend visit with Peter consisted of reading a book while Peter worked on homework, Tony was damn proud of the kid.
"That sounds perfect for the two of you," Pepper smiled.
"We are actually set to sign the lease on Monday," Harry told them, practically beaming.
"I'm happy for the two of you," Tony congratulated. "Have you told May yet?"
Peter shook his head. "I think we're going to tell her tomorrow. We're going over there to have dinner with her."
"I'm cooking," Harry added with a laugh. "We don't want to get food poisoning right before signing the lease."
The four continued to talk for hours, an enjoyable discussion in which they discussed everything and nothing at all. Before long, it was nearly midnight and Peter was close to falling asleep in his chair. Pepper had excused herself a few minutes before to go get ready for bed, leaving the three alone in the kitchen.
"Pete, let's head to bed," Harry murmured to him. Tony's heart swelled with pride as he watched his son pull Peter to his feet. As Peter stumbled down the hall towards the bedroom, Tony stood as well, rounding the table. As if it were second nature, Harry opened his arm towards his dad and embraced him in a hug. Tony took a second to process how huge it was that his son now willingly initiated and received hugs without second thought. Six years ago it would have been a much different story.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked him as he pulled away, and Tony realized he must have been looking at him in an odd way.
"Totally fine, kiddo. Better than fine, actually," he ruffled Harry's ever-messy hair. "I'm proud of you son."
Harry gave him an amused look. "What for?"
"For everything. You've made quite the life for yourself, and I'm proud of you for it."
"I wouldn't be anywhere if it weren't for you dad," Harry murmured.
"I don't believe that for one second," Tony shook his head and leaned against the edge of the table.
"Maybe not, but my life sure is better for it," Harry shrugged. He wrapped his dad in a one arm hug and smiled to himself as Tony absentmindedly pressed a kiss to the top of his head.
"Goodnight dad. I love you."
"I love you too, kiddo."
*
(One month later-- April)
"I've needed this."
Pepper tilted her head up towards the sky, soaking in the warm late April sunlight. Tony smiled at her from across the table, taking a sip of his coffee.
The two had made an impromptu trip to Europe for the week in celebration of their fifth wedding anniversary. They were currently seated outside of Pepper's favorite café-- the one that Tony had visited the morning of their wedding to bring her favorite breakfast.
"What's on the agenda for the rest of the day? Stay in Paris and sight see, or go for a drive-- or flight, option is always open-- to see other parts of the country? Or continent. Really, Pep, I'm not picky."
His wife bit her lip, and he knew what she was thinking.
"You know, there's a masseuse a few blocks from here that I have heard raving reviews about. Heard she has magic hands. What do you say we see if she has any opening for this afternoon? I can book you a slot?"
Pepper seemed tempted by the idea, but she shook her head. "What will you do while I'm there."
Tony waved her off. "I'll be fine. I've got some phone calls to return, and there's a few sights that I've wanted to see that I don't think you'd be interested in. There's the Musee des Arts et Metiers, which is a museum with old scientific instrumentation and-"
"Okay, okay," Pepper laughed "You're right, I think I'd prefer the massage."
"I'll have Friday give her a quick call and see if she has any openings." A few moments later, Friday announced from his phone that Pepper was scheduled in an hour for a 90 minute massage. The CEO looked thrilled at the idea of 90 minutes to herself in which she could just relax.
The two continued their relaxed brunch, paying close attention to the time to make sure Pepper made it on time to her appointment. Approximately 20 minutes until her booked time, she stood up and bid Tony goodbye for a few hours, making him promise to behave himself.
"Please, Pep, when have I ever not behaved myself?"
"I'm not even going to humor that with a response." She planted a quick kiss to his cheek before practically skipping off towards the masseuse's office.
Tony watched her until she disappeared and then sat for a moment, contemplating what he was about to do. He wasn't lying when he said that he had been wanting to see the Musee des Artes et Metiers, but that wasn't his plan for the afternoon.
Instead, he had a visit he wanted to make.
*
The prison doors buzzed open, but Tony remained seated.
Petunia Dursley entered the room wearing handcuffs, flanked by a guard that escorted her into the visitation area. Somehow, she looked even bonier than she had the last time he had seen her nearly 6 years ago at the trial.
Her eyes landed on him and she halted for a moment. The guard grunted something at her, and Tony could see the hesitation in her expression. But to his surprise, she began walking once more.
Wordlessly, she took a seat across from him at the table. He folded his hands in front of him, lips pressed together tightly as he suddenly struggled to find words.
Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe he should have given this a little more thought, or run this by someone. He could almost guarantee Pepper would have tried to discourage him.
"What are you doing here?" Petunia's voice broke the silence. It sounded tired and strained rather than bitter as Tony would have expected.
"You know, that's a great question," Tony leaned back a bit. "I got here, and I realized I hadn't thought that far in advance."
Petunia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Please just leave me be. You've already ruined everything good in my life."
Anger boiled over inside of him and he struggled to contain his temper. For the thousandth time in his life, he thanked every force imaginable that he hadn't been the one to become the Hulk.
"No, that's where you're wrong," he told her, eerily calm. "You've ruined everything good in your life. I would have thought six years in prison would have taught you that, but apparently I was wrong."
"I've lost everything. My son, my husband. That boy caused nothing but trouble in my life."
Tony was seeing red.
"'That boy' you speak of is my son, and I will not have you referring to him like that. I am sorry that your actions caused your life to derail. Trust me, I've been in some deep shit myself, and I understand firsthand what it feels like. But you have to own up to your actions and face the consequences head on."
Petunia was silent, but he knew that he had struck a nerve. He softened his tone a bit as he continued.
"I didn't come here to forgive you. I don't think I'll ever be able to do that. But I wanted to tell you that Harry has come out of this better than I ever could have thought possible. After you, he was broken down. A shell of a person. But he's living now, truly living. There's a fire that's ignited inside of him, and my god, is he thriving."
Tony fixed Petunia with a pointed glare, and she diverted her eyes to avoid eye contact.
"He's running a successful business now. A bakery, actually. One of New York's most popular. He's an amazing big brother, better than I could have ever hoped. And he's engaged to be married to his wonderful fiancé who helped pick up the pieces after you broke him down. He's a good kid, and the best son that I could have asked for."
Tony pressed his palms to the table and was beginning to stand up when Petunia spoke softly.
"Thank you." Her voice was practically a whisper, but Tony heard her. He froze, staring at her inquisitively. Finally, she turned her head up to squarely meet his eyes since the meeting had began.
"Thank you," she repeated. "For taking care of him...."
She mashed her lips together and Tony could see her eyes glisten with tears as she contemplated her next words.
"My sister and I, we never got on well. But she would be so ashamed if she knew how her boy had been treated under my care. And I know my words can never erase my actions, nor will I try to have them do so, but for whatever it's worth, I thank you for taking care of him."
Her words rendered Tony speechless. He would never feel forgiveness or empathy towards the woman, but for the first time, he felt sympathy towards her. He pitied her for the decisions she had made in her life that had landed her here, and he pitied her for when she got out of prison and had to restart her life completely alone.
"I will never be able to understand how you did what you did, or why. But I hope that someday you do. I hope that you figure it out and get to the root of that problem. I hope that you fix yourself and come out better from it."
He stood up fully and they exchanged a nod towards one another. The guard helped Petunia to her feet and escorted her back towards her cell, and Tony made his way back out the door.
As he exited the building and headed towards the private alleyway where he would summon the suit and fly back to Paris, he checked his watch and smiled.
He may not have enough time to visit the museum once he arrived back in Paris, but he would have plenty of time to call his son.
*
(One year later-- July)
"I think you actually made the perfect batch."
"I know you're teasing me, but I'm proud of myself so I don't even care," Tony bantered back with his wife, setting the plate of hotdogs and hamburgers on the table. He rounded the picnic table and came up behind Pepper, wrapping his arms around her as she set a plate of watermelon slices down.
"Hey, watch this," he whispered in her ears before stepped back and turned towards the house.
"Kids! Dinner time!"
He turned back to Pepper with a wide smile on his face and she rolled her eyes at him. "Could we be any more domestic?"
"You know you love it. And face it, you never expected this when you first fell in love with me."
She contemplated this for a second and then shrugged, at a loss for words. But she was smiling. She loved the life they had created for themselves.
"Tony, how many times do I have to remind you that I am not one of your children?" Natasha teased as she and Yelena made their way down into the yard, followed by Steve and Bucky and their two daughters. Morgan raced out of her tent that had been set up just down the hill, Lila and Cooper on her heels, all giggling deliriously. Thor emerged from the tent last, laughing as he chased them as though he were a bear. From his place on the porch, Loki watched with the traces of a smile on his face.
Clint carried Nathaniel out of the house, Laura beside him. From the driveway, Bruce and Caroline shut the car doors, Abigail already hurrying down the hill to join up with her pseudo-cousins.
Harry and Peter were the last ones out of the house, laughing at the chaos that had congregated in the yard. Twenty-one people was already a crowd, but throw in the fact that they were the Avengers, and the mayhem intensified.
Despite the fact that Harry and Loki had offered to charm the cabin's dining room to fit all twenty-one of them, Tony had insisted that they eat outside at the picnic table, enjoying the beautiful July day.
As everyone fixed their plates, Tony and Pepper stood back and took in the sight of the entire team.
"We made it," Tony murmured to his wife, pulling her in closer to him. "We did this."
There were squeals of laughter as kids hung off of Bucky's metal arm, seeing how many of them he could hold at a time while their parents fixed their plates. Bucky twirled around, causing the laughter to turn into screams of delight.
"Such a beautiful life," Pepper snuggled in closer to Tony's chest.
And it was. The lake glistened in the sun and the birds chirped merrily from the trees. The July breeze provided a slight reprieve from the warm air, and all of their loved ones chatted happily with one another. Tony couldn't have pictured anything more beautiful in his life.
"I love you tons, Pep."
She turned to look up at him with brilliant green eyes, an easy smile on her face as she spoke the words that had become theirs over the years.
"And I love you 3000."
*
(A/N pt. 2: TADA! Pepper and Tony's epilogue is done and I hope I have done it justice! There were so many directions that I could have taken it-- and almost did take it-- but this is what felt right! Sorry it has taken me so long to update, but I had to wait until I was finished with this semester of school!
Harry and Peter's epilogue will be the next, and last, epilogue! It is insane to me that after five years, this story is almost finished! I know that this next one will be a long one, so unfortunately it may be a bit before I can get it out to you. BUT, I hope you all enjoy this one for the time being. Thank you all so much for reading and all of your support over the years! I hope you enjoy! As always, stay safe and healthy everyone!)