Tony wandered his way into the small yurt like tents that were grouped around a small lake under the hill. Eventually, he located Happy's distraught voice and followed it to the source. He ducked into the small structure, realizing while Wakanda was going to serve as a base for everyone aiding the Avengers, there were probably not enough of the high tech buildings to house them right away.
He entered the space to Happy trying to ignore Parker while he wildly threw questions at him about everything that happened and everything that was to come. He tuned it out, focused on his own thoughts as he poured himself a glass of water at the small hand crafted table placed in the corner. It almost reminded him of camping, having to use water from a pitcher...
"Mr Stark!" he heard Peter gasp upon his entrance, stealing his attention. "Mr Stark, I'm so sorry, I just thought-"
"Save it, kid," he muttered, taking a sip while he stayed turned away from the two.
"But I-" he protested, but Tony wasn't in the mood.
"I said not now," he snapped, finally turning toward Parker.
The kid's mouth was agape, not knowing what to say. For once, words weren't coming, and Happy sighed in happiness from the other side of the tent. Stark kept his eyes on Parker, taking another sip, but spoke to Happy instead.
"Is F.R.I.D.A.Y. still up and running in New York?" he asked, wondering how the rest of the world was fairing and if Thanos had been unleashed yet.
"So far everything's still good," Happy confirmed, setting down his tablet. "Though Central Park took a beating."
"The portal must not be opened yet..." Stark muttered, finishing off the water.
"So the ring's still there...?" Parker piped up, looking at Happy and then back at Tony.
"No thanks to you." He paused. "Funny, if you gave me a dollar for every time I've said that to you recently..."
Happy snorted in amusement from his seat.
"I...I tried, Mr Stark," Peter insisted again. "I didn't expect-"
Tony glared daggers at the kid, fury rising in his eyes. "I don't want to hear it, okay?" he yelled with a new found authority in his tone. "What you did... Did you even think about everyone else?"
"Well, yeah..." he answered with a shaky voice. "I was sort of trying to save the planet!"
"No, you were trying to be the hero again," Stark answered, making Happy chuckle at how ironic that statement actually was. "I can't watch you and Pepper and..." He paused, realizing he hadn't had a chance to drop the news.
"And?" Happy asked, suddenly interested.
Tony shot him a look, then turned back to the kid. "Look, kid, I fought for you to be on this team. We need you. Earth needs you. But if you can't keep your head in the game and listen to my directions-"
"To your directions?!" Peter snapped. "Since when are you in charge?"
"Since I gave you the suit," he answered without missing a beat.
Parker muttered something in defeat under his breath, but sunk down into one of the cushions along the side of the room, now embarrassed and upset. Tony sighed, repeating him, and placed his head in his hands as he took a breath.
"I'm sorry," Parker finally spoke, quietly. "I didn't mean....is miss Potts-"
Tony groaned, knowing the secret was about to come out. He still didn't know how he felt about it so he didn't want to think about how everyone else was going to react. Suddenly, he wished that water was scotch...he needed a good drink.
"Where is she?" Happy asked, now panicked about the fact that his co worker and friend didn't come in with Stark. "Is Pepper hurt?"
Tony ran his hands down his face with a drawn out huff, pulling at his skin while he tried to figure out what to say.
"She's-" he began, but couldn't get much out.
"Oh God," Happy assumed. "She's not...is she...I told you that suit was a bad idea!"
"Happy, she's fine!" Tony snapped. Then, he looked up at his security detail and took a deep breath. "She's pregnant."
Happy almost choked on his own saliva, suddenly entering a coughing fit as the news hit him, making Stark raise an eyebrow questioningly. That was definitely not the reaction he expected, knowing Hogan usually kept his real thoughts to himself.
"Ohhhhh my God!" Parker mumbled excitedly. "I'm gonna be an uncle! Hey, Mr Stark, I can totally babysit if you..."
Tony eyed him with a look that questioned his sanity and shook his head, dismissing the kid so he slowly trailed off, getting the hint. Then, he turned the conversation back to Happy.
"She was knocked out, but..." He sunk back into the cushion with fatigue. "She doesn't know."
"You gotta tell her," Hogan answered simply.
Another glare from Stark. "No shit, Sherlock." He ran a hand through his hair. "When she wakes up, I'll talk to her...if I can figure out what the hell to do next."
Tony was again stuck in his own thoughts until Hill paged him to meet the rest of the team for a meeting. He just hoped they had answers or a plan or...something, because the idea of raising a child while trying to retake the planet from an alien species was not on the top of his to do list for this lifetime.
While the group was assembled, Tony waited in his seat impatiently, fidgeting with the buttons on his pants pocket as something to do with his hands in the meantime. Parker took the seat next to him, rambling about some web setting in his ear, but he tuned it out again. Then, slowly, the rest of the team formed around him at the table, including someone who made his heart skip: Pepper.
Romanoff had helped her into the room, but she looked alive and healthy, and to Tony, she was glowing. She smiled at him guiltily, but he immediately stood and pulled out the seat next to him for her, helping her sit down; he was sure she was a little sore from the fight, and probably was still waking up fully. Pepper had glanced at him in confusion, as it was not something Tony usually did, but accepted his help graciously.
The meeting started immediately, not giving them much time to talk, but he was just thankful she was up and moving. Not thankful that Nat hadn't called him, but that didn't matter right now. He ignored Fury as he instructed them on the next steps, even though it was important information, and instead rubbed his hand up and down Pepper's thigh, squeezing gently every now and then and earning a blush from her while she tried to keep her eyes off of him and pretend like it wasn't happening. Then, he was nervously tapping, resting his chin on his other hand while he focused on the table.
Fury assigned teams, announcing they would head back out after a day of preparation, and when the Iron duo came up, Tony snapped his attention back to the meeting for the first time since it began.
"Rescue's sitting out," he demanded, staring Fury down to let him see his sincerity.
"What?!" Pepper asked, obviously irritated with Tony's decision. "Are you drunk?! There's no way I'm sitting out -"
"Pepper, sweetheart, just trust me on this," he insisted, glancing at his fiance.
Fury raised the eyebrow on his good eye. "Perhaps you two should talk this out first."
"Yeah," Tony mumbled, swallowing hard. "Thanks, eye patch. Didn't think of that one yet," he bantered.
Despite Tony's interruption, the meeting was adjourned, sending them all prepping their suits and weapons for the takeoff the next day. Tony felt sick as the beginning of another anxiety episode slowly crept through his body, but he willed himself to stand and follow Pepper outside, who had stomped off immediately after being let out.
He found her discussing something with Natasha and Cap, her arms folded over her chest in frustration; he knew that stance well. Internally smacking himself, he forced his feet to move him forward, his hands stuffed in his pockets for effect.
"Pep," he spoke, his voice cracking slightly, which got her attention.
"What, do I have to sit out talking to our friends, too?" she quipped.
He flinched; her voice was as fiery as her hair. This was not how he wanted this to go. He also didn't want to discuss this in front of everyone, but the group hadn't dispersed, obviously on her side of the argument. If only they knew.
"Right," he muttered, looking at the ground sheepishly, then back at her. "Listen, can we talk?"
"Go ahead," she agreed.
"I mean..." he argued, wanting some privacy. Instead, he decided to not push her further and just went with it. "Nevermind. Okay." He removed a hand from his pocket to scratch his head, thinking. "Uh, look, I already have to get my suit fixed up and we only have a day so-"
"Really?" she asked, her lip curving up in disgust. "You're gonna pull that card?"
Natasha spoke up in her defense. "Tony, Shuri's already working on recharging them. Quill brought the pieces down after you left."
"Oh," he responded, realizing he couldn't use that excuse.
Pepper sighed, her shoulders relaxing a little at his protective tendencies. She reached out a hand, placing it under his chin to lift his head up to look at her.
"Tony, I know you're worried about me, but-"
"Not just you, Pep," he answered, forcing a smile through his shaking structure.
"The team's gonna be fine, too," she promised, tilting her head in concern.
He shook his head, still in her grip, and the smile became more real. "Did they uh...did they tell you what happened?"
She frowned. "Something about the magnetic field knocking us out. Quill brought us here."
Stark saw Natasha whispering something to Cap, who immediately shot Tony a wide grin. Great, so now they knew..there was no backing out of this one now.
"Tony, what aren't you telling me?" Pepper questioned again, sensing his discomfort.
His smile turned into one of his infamous smirks as he raised both eyebrows and popped up on his toes - something else he did when he was nervous. Then, as if running through all his quirks, he ran his hand through his hair again a few times, ruffling it up.
"Tony..." Pepper pressed, knowing he always needed a push when he didn't want to talk about something. "Why don't you want us fighting with you? Please tell me you don't think you can do this on your own!"
"Of course not," he chuckled. "But, honey...I just need you to sit this one out, okay? Please?"
She huffed, shaking her head at his request, but he continued before she could respond.
"I need to make sure you're okay. I can't lose you guys."
She narrowed her eyes, not following. "Happy's gonna be fine, too, Tony."
"Not Happy," he groaned...God, he was terrible at these situations. "The baby, Pep. You're...we're uh, sort of-"
She laughed out loud, more so than he had ever seen from her, not processing what he said correctly.
"Okay, now I know you're drunk!" she exclaimed, grinning ear to ear. "I'm not sitting out, that's final. Now can we stop this nonsense?"
Pepper briefly glanced between Tony and the group as silence fell over them. Stark scratched his head once more, waiting for her to realize he wasn't joking. Finally, her face straightened out as she looked around the group.
"You're not..."
"Kidding?" Tony assumed. "Nope. You're um...pregnant, Pep."
She breathed steadily, focused on Tony's face. She stared at him long enough to make him start to panic before she reacted. He flashed a nervous smile, pleading for help among the others, but only received a 'congratulations, dad of Iron!" and a strong pat on the back from Thor.
Pepper's hand dropped to her flat stomach, not showing yet. "Oh my God..." she whispered, blinking as she took it all in.
Tony's brow furrowed as he reached for her arm, lightly holding onto her bicep. She looked up from her stomach and met his eyes, freaking him out when he saw tears.
"Pep, look, we can...we don't have to..."
He had no idea what he was trying to say. The idea of raising a baby scared the living hell out of him, but not keeping it almost seemed worse...if they saved Earth, that was. He continued stumbling through words as they flowed out, not able to form a complete thought.
"I know this isn't the most ideal timing, but..."
Suddenly, she laughed; she was shocked, but she laughed. Pepper laughed. Were those...happy tears?
"Tony," she breathed, her voice never sounding happier.
"I know," he grinned, his lips curving up as he pulled her toward him and rested his forehead against hers.
Another gasping chuckle left her mouth. "We're..."
"Gonna be parents," he finished for her, his eyes flicking up from her hand on her stomach to meet her own. "I know. I'm sorry if...I mean, I know we haven't talked about..."
"Tony!" she hushed him, pressing a soft kiss against his lips. "I'm happy. This is..."
"Happy?" he repeated. "You mean..."
"You're going to be a brilliant father, Mr Stark," she murmured kindly, reading his fears as well as Natasha had as she ran a hand through his hair to comfort him.
"Am I?" he doubted out loud, wincing at the thought. "I have no idea how to raise a kid, Pep."
"We'll figure it out," she answered.
"God, I love you," Stark replied simply, stating the most overpowering thing on his mind.
"I love you too."
Pepper took him into her arms and placed her chin on his shoulder as she embraced him in a tight hug, celebrating the news. At the sight, the others applauded them before meeting them with pats on the back and hugs. Tony Stark was going to be a dad...who would've ever thought?