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"I can't believe the little Christmas baby is going to turn one in a few days,"
"It's just another reminder that I went into labor at Christmas dinner,"
Pepper Potts and Audelia Motter shared a laugh as they sat together on the couch of Tony Stark's living room. Well, she shouldn't say it was his couch, as Deli and her sweet little Aurora had been living with him for the six months after overseeing preparations on the New York tower redo.
Little Aurora Motter was crawling around on the floor, babbling nonsense as she played with the little Iron Man and Imperial actions figures that Tony had absolutely insisted on. Not that she was complaining, they were adorable as hell.
"I ordered her present," Pepper told her friend, taking a sip of her glass of wine. "Will probably be here closer to New Year's."
"And I told you not to get her anything. It's bad enough that Steve sent her a gift,"
"Let me guess: a tiny little Captain America shield?"
"Spot on," Audelia couldn't even help the smile on her lips, though, at the thought of the boxed up shield sitting upstairs at the moment. "A little much for Mr. Self Righteous but it's cute. Natasha sent over the cutest little onesie that looks just like her suit."
"When I was out to lunch with Nathan the other day he was going on and on about how much he planned to spoil her for her first,"
The name brought a frown to Audelia's lips as she stared down at her child, the perfect mix of her and Nathan. She knew that co-parenting wasn't going to be easy, but nothing could've prepared her for how the last seven months had been.
She knew it would be awkward between the pair for awhile, Audelia so drastically in love with Tony and moving in with him immediately. She could tell that it stung Nathan to know that, but she swore it was just as friends at the moment...even if she repeatedly slept in Tony's bed. But that was due to the constant nightmares he lived through every single time he closed his eyes that he refused to ever talk about.
They were trying, that much was clear. Nathan and Audelia wanted this to work, wanted to still be in one another's lives, but it was hard sometimes when a situation felt so familiar and then she'd remember that she didn't wear his ring anymore.
But that was seven months ago, and Audelia was beginning to realize that it was time to move on from that part of her life and go after what she wanted.
"I'm sure he is,"
"Any plans on what you're giving Tony?"
"Actually, yes," her cheeks reddened as she looked over at the red head beside her. "I'm thinking maybe it's time I tell him the stars are aligning."
Audelia couldn't help but laugh at the excited squeal that erupted from Pepper, the woman almost spilling her wine all over the couch.
"Finally! Oh my god, I've been waiting forever for the two of you to get it together!"
"Relax, Pep, I haven't told him yet," Deli shot back with a grin. "I'm thinking on Christmas. Celebrate Aurora, celebrate Jesus, tell my best friend I'm in love with him, what could go wrong?"
"Absolutely nothing," Pepper sighed as she looked down at her watch, climbing off the couch as she grabbed onto the files she had brought over for Audelia to look at. "It's getting late, I should get home. Don't forget you have a meeting tomorrow in the late afternoon with some guy from AIM."
"I'll be there, I'm getting a late lunch with Tony and Rhodey before hand. I'll see you tomorrow, Pep, goodnight,"
"Goodnight,"
Audelia stayed seated on the couch, waiting until Pepper had finally walked out the front door, JARVIS shutting it behind her before she rose to her feet.
Aurora was playing with her toys, her big brown eyes looking up at her mom as she leaned down, scooping her up into her chest.
"Let's go check on Tony, yeah baby?"
Downstairs in the lab, Tony Stark flipped onto the platform, the face mask of his Iron Man suit landing on his face as he landed, the brand new Mark 42 now covering his body. He smiled, feeling proud of himself for his creation as he stood tall, until a stray piece of the suit want flying into his back, knocking him forward onto the ground as the piece of the suit scattered, littering the floor.
Audelia was leaning against the entrance to the lab, laughing under her breath as she leaned down to the floor, placing her daughter on the ground.
"Go get him, baby!"
Tony perked up at the sound of little Aurora's laughter, turning around onto his stomach as his eyes lit up, little Aurora crawling across the floor toward him. He laughed, rising to his knees as he scooped the little girl up, standing on his feet now as he spun her around in the air.
"Oh no! I'm being attacked by mini Imperial! Save me!"
The sight made Audelia fall even more in love with Tony. The way he held her daughter as he stood in the middle of the room, his smile bright as the little girl giggled, resting on his chest as his eyes turned to face his best friend, who was stalking across the room toward him.
"Mark 42," Deli said, taking a look at the scattered pieces of the suit around the room. "I thought I told you that you had enough suits once you made number 8?"
"You only have 6!"
"Because there's only one Imperial and she doesn't need 42 different armors," she reminded her best friend as she joined his side, smiling at her daughter quickly. "Just like there's only one Iron Man and he definitely doesn't need 42 suits."
"Maybe they're future gifts for the little one," Tony's eyes trailed back to Aurora as he bounced her in his arms. "How's that sound, honey? You going to grow up and be the Iron Woman? Are you going to murder me and your mother and steal our legacies?"
Audelia let out a laugh at the absurd statement, shaking her head as her best friend looked back to her.
"I thought she was a future hero?"
"She is!"
"Then why'd you give her the origin story of a super villain?"
"...because I said so,"
No matter how much she wished the conversation could distract her from the problem at hand, it couldn't. Audelia's eyes trailed around the mess of a lab as Tony carried her daughter over to the couches in the corner, her little girl playing around with the remote as she surveyed the room.
Blueprints were scattered everywhere, pieces of different armors littering the entire room. It was a mess, just as Tony was. But he would never admit it.
"I'm worried about you, you know," she confessed, walking over and taking a seat beside her best friend. "You haven't slept in 72 hours now, Tony, that's not healthy. The lab is a mess, you're barely getting enough sleep when you do go to bed...I want to help you but you have to let me in."
"There's nothing to help if there's nothing wrong," Tony told her, knowing she didn't believe him. He placed one arm over her shoulders, pulling her into his side as he rested his head on top of her's, reveling in the comfort that her mere presence brought to him for a moment. "I'm fine, Deli, just preparing for the next fight."
"There hasn't been any activity like New York in the last seven months, Tony. We're fine, you need to take time to process-"
"You never know when there could be another moment like New York. You just have to be ready,"
They sat in silence together, enjoying the company of the other as the only sound in the room was the sound of Aurora chewing on the television remote.
Until she accidentally pressed the on button, the TV screen lighting up before them.
All it was...was war. People running for their lives, screaming for mercy as fire ravaged the towns in the background. It was chaos, it was destruction, and it was hard to watch.
"You know who I am, you don't know where I am, and you'll never see me coming,"
The face of the man speaking flashed for a brief second before a simple logo flashed across the screen: two swords surrounded by ten rings. Tony and Audelia pulled apart, leaning forward to look at the screen before them with wide eyes.
It was the symbol of the Ten Rings, the terrorist organization that Obadiah had fired to kill both Audelia and Tony.
"...okay, that's a problem,"
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I love them I love them I love them I love them
I'm just chilling here, waiting for Lover at midnight VERY IMPATIENTLY