~Avery~
On January 18, 2019, James Howard Stark was born.
It was a very emotional day, with lots of screaming and crying, all mainly from Tony. I was really lucky to have my family there with me, helping me through the long and tiring process.
Tony and I haven't gotten married quite yet, as we were waiting for after things settled and for after I gave birth and got my body back as my own. We have been working on planning, though, and have already decided on a date and venue.
Harley was off at college at MIT, and Tony and I couldn't be prouder. He calls when he can, and we saw him not long ago for winter break. Though I will say, I do greatly miss having him around.
Right now, I was at the house on the main floor with Morgan in the kitchen, arguing over her going to an unsupervised party at one of her friend's houses while I tried to make dinner and supervise Howie, all at the same time. She tried to ask Tony, but his answer was "Check with Peg".
"Monkey, I'm sorry, but I just don't think it's a good idea, especially with the house being so far away."
"Avery, come on, it's not like you or Dad won't be tracking my phone the whole time! And you know some of the kids going-"
"I know more than some of the kids, and I can tell you that some of them are not the most trustworthy or responsible." I pointed my spatula at her.
"God, you're being unreasonable! Why can't you just let me go? You can even give me a curfew! I'll make sure to follow it!"
"Morgan, honey, I just don't think you're quite old enough now. Maybe in a year, we can-"
"A year?" She scratched, making me wince. "That's so unfair! I don't even know why I have to ask you about this, you're not my mom!"
My heart seemed to stutter in my chest, and I was grateful that my back was already turned so that Morgan couldn't see the tears springing in my eyes.
I know I'm not her real mom. Her real mom, my best friend, and sister, is gone. She's not coming back. I've just been doing my best not to replace Pepper, but to help give Morgan that motherly role I know she had been missing.
"Well, he told you to ask me, and my answer is no. Now, could you please go down to the lab and tell your father dinner is almost ready please?"
"I'm not really hungry anymore," Morgan grumbled, storming out of the kitchen and toward her room, slamming the door shut and causing Howie to burst into tears.
"Oh, Howie, honey." I tiredly sighed, turning off the burner and walking over to him, picking the baby up from his playpen in the living room. "Friday, could you please let Tony know dinner's ready?"
"Already done, Ms. Lynn. He should be up momentarily."
"Thank you."
By the time I had finished plating the food, Tony came upstairs, giving me a quick kiss before picking a plate up, telling me he had to finish checking something out for a project Olivia was working on before the morning, so he would eat downstairs.
I sighed as he rushed away, quietly mumbling to himself as he walked down the stairs. Picking up one of the other plates with my free hand, I walked towards Morgan's room, setting the plate in front of the door before softly knocking.
"Morgan, hun. I know you don't wanna eat with me right now, so you're dinners here outside your door waiting. Just leave the plate back out here when you're done." I quietly said before walking back to the kitchen, smiling slightly when I heard the door open and close.
"Looks like it's just you and me tonight, Howie."
~~
Morgan's POV ~
I really had to pee.
It's been about an hour or so since my fight with Avery, and I haven't left my room since it, but right now I really had to go to the bathroom. Peaking out from my door, I noticed my plate was gone, meaning Avery had taken it back at some point. I quickly made my way to the bathroom, making sure to walk around any of the creaky floorboards on the way.
When I was done and making my way back to my room, I stopped upon hearing Avery in Howie's nursery, softly singing to him as she no doubt put him to bed. My feet stayed rooted to the floor as I listened to her voice, which seemed to wobble a bit with every few words.
She was singing in Italian, but I could easily tell it was You Are My Sunshine.
My mom used to sing me that.
As soon as she stopped, I snapped out of my trance, rushing back into my room. My heart pounded as Avery's footsteps sounded throughout the halls, stopping in front of my door.
"Morgan, hun?" She gently knocked, though didn't try opening the door. "I just wanted to say good night. And that I love you. I know I'm not you're mom, and I want you to know I'm not trying to replace Pepper at all. I just was trying to be a bit of that motherly figure I know you lost, but if I stepped over the line I'm really sorry."
Avery didn't say anything for a moment, and I could tell she was waiting to see if I would respond somehow. When I didn't she let out a small sigh, saying good night once more before walking away.
~~
It was now about ten o'clock, and I couldn't sleep. What Avery had said to me earlier had stuck in my head, and I had started to feel a bit bad about how I blew up on her like that. I mean, it would be so much easier to just stay mad at her if she yelled back, punished me, done something. But no. She was nice. Why does she have to be so nice all the time??
With sleep out of sight, I quietly walked out of my room, moving towards the basement where I knew Dad would be tinkering away. If I got tired, I could just use the Murphy Bed that's down there.
My eyes scanned over the mostly dark room, finding Dad sitting at the only lit-up work bench towards the end of the room.
"Dad?" I got his attention, his head shooting up to meet me.
"Hey, Maguna. What are you still doin' up?" He whispered, glancing to his left.
"I couldn't sleep. What are you working on?" I asked, and Dad gently shushed me as I didn't whisper back.
"Sorry, Peg's sleeping, so we'll have to be quiet." He explained, making me finally notice how the Murphy Ded was down, a body obviously in it while Avery's prosthetic leg sat close by. "But, I'm just doing some touchups for Aunt Oliv. She's been working on a personal project and wanted another set of eyes."
"What's Avery doing down here? I thought she slept in you're guys' room." My eyes continued to stay on Avery, whose slightly illuminated face was scrunched up a bit.
"She... she was just having one of her usual bad nights. Nothing to worry about."
"Bad nights?"
Dad looked at me for a moment before understanding washed over him, setting his tools down and motioning for me to take the seat opposite of him.
"How much do you know about Avery's past?"
"Just that she entered the Air Force when she was 18, met Uncle Rhodey, then met you and Mom through him. And that she lost her leg during a piloting mishap or something, which led to her getting a medical discharge." I said, making him nod in agreement.
"Anything else? Anything from before all of that? Maybe about her parents."
"Besides them both being dead, no. Why?" My brows furrowed, and a sinking feeling started in my stomach as Dad sighed.
"Avery's dad died when she was really young. Her mother didn't take it well, turning to different substances and jumping from one abusive relationship to the other. Avery ended up taking the brunt of most of the abuse. That's why she entered the military as soon as she could. That's also why she doesn't yell when one of her kids is yelling at her when they're mad. She doesn't want to be like her mother." Dad gave me a knowing look, making me shrink back a bit.
"Yeah, not only did I hear a bit of your little rant, but I grilled Peg on it a bit too."
"Dad-" He cut me off with a raise of his hand.
"Don't worry about it, kid, neither of us is mad or anything. Though I'm not a fan of how you reacted."
"I'm sorry." I looked down, fiddling with my hands.
"Yeah, tell that to Peg in the morning." He cocked his head to the side.
"So, what's going on with her? Why isn't she in you're room?" I brought us back on track.
"She just gets nightmares from everything, every once and a while. Her sleep schedule being messed up from Howie seems to have made them more frequent, though." Dad told me, right as Avery started to stir in her sleep. "Like right now."
I watched as he quickly walked over to the woman, carefully sitting beside her as he stroked her arm, leaning down to whisper in her ear. I didn't say anything as Dad worked, slowly coaxing the brunette back into a more peaceful sleep.
"Good job, honey. Keep kicking the demon's asses. I'll be here when you wake up." I heard him whisper, making me smile to myself.
I tried my best to suppress a yawn as Dad leaned over Avery, gently kissing her forehead before walking back to his seat.
"I saw that. Why don't you go lay down with her? Bed's big enough for two."
"What about you?"
"I'll probably be up the rest of the night. It's fine. Plus, if I stay awake I can deal with the little one, Peg will be able to get a few more hours in."
I hummed in agreement, slowly walking over to the bed and hesitantly looking at the empty space beside the woman. Glancing back at Dad, I noticed he had gone back to tinkering, some hologram of a car shining in front of him. With a sigh, I carefully got into the bed, pulling the covers over myself.
Once I had settled, I moved onto my side, facing away from Avery and towards the room. I froze, though, when I felt the woman's arm protectively move over me, almost like it was instinctual.
My eyes then started watering in frustration.
Frustration that I couldn't go to that dumb party. Frustration that I yelled at Avery. Frustration my mom wasn't here. Frustration that Avery was so nice and understanding. Frustration that she had to go through so many horrible things. Frustration that despite everything, she still ended up being one of the nicest people I know.
Everything was just so frustrating.
Turning around, I leaned into Avery, wrapping my arms around her as the one she had around me tightened.
"I'm sorry."
I slept soundly for the rest of the night.