Part Three: Infinity War
"She's gonna be an angel, just you wait and see."
Aphrodite Harper.
The days went by extremely uneventful for a while.
Peter enrolled in a school in New York to finish his study.
Rhodey was able to walk again with the aid of leg braces, so him coming over for dinner became a regular occurrence.
I took care of housework and the pets, with the occasional help of the boys. I didn't expect their help though, since both of them had busy lives.
Tony spent a lot of time in his basement, making more advanced suits for himself.
Since Scott got inside his suit, Tony shifted his work to nanotech, spending his days trying to perfect a nanotech suit. That way, no one could dismantle it from the inside.
He also created adjustments to Peter's suit, giving it a heater and parachute, after Rhodey's fall.
Tony wouldn't admit it to anyone except for me, but he cared about Peter's safety more than he cared about his own.
He made a new, better suit for Peter, but hadn't given it to him yet, since we didn't need them for anything beyond temptation.
Tony took notice of how I would have to get changed for past battles, so for my birthday, he gave me a watch. The trick being, I press a small button on the side, and a nanotech suit would cover my body.
It was almost like a simple black bodysuit, adorned with gold fibres.
I loved it, but I hadn't worn it, since we didn't need to fight.
Life became simple.
Tony and I were doing great, we hadn't fought since the airport, and we saw eye to eye on how to raise Peter.
Peter really did become our son.
He saw us as his real parents, but he would still call us by our names, and we were okay with that.
Whatever made him comfortable, was fine by me.
The turtles and fish were happily living in harmony, and Peter enjoyed feeding them in the mornings.
Rocky and Princess were getting bigger as the days went by, and it always put a smile on my face to see Peter come home from school and tackle them into cuddles on the floor.
Everyone was happy.
Everything was good.
I trained Rocky and Princess to be guard dogs, not that we needed them, but just incase. They were still little bundles of cuddles and kisses, though.
We were a family.
I hadn't spoken to Steve since the phone call, and he hadn't reached out.
All that mattered was that everyone was safe.
Tony got them cleared through Ross. He didn't want to, but I told him that if we needed to come back together, it would be best that Ross wouldn't step in and make the situation more tense than it needed to be.
He knew I was right, as much as he didn't want to admit it.
Peter used to look up to Steve, but he cared about Tony more than he respected the Avengers.
Vision had recently turned off his transponder, too. We had no idea where he or Wanda were, but long as they were safe, it was okay.
Bruce and Thor were still off the radar, and I feared as the days went by that Bruce wouldn't be coming back.
I really hoped he would, though.
Tony cared about Banner more than he would ever let on.
I had been in contact with Savannah, Beth and Georgia too. I told them everything, and they were relieved I was okay.
Much to my relief, they understood why I dropped off the radar, given everything that had happened.
Peter was at school for the day, and Tony was in the basement, making an adjustment to his suit.
I had finished making lunch for us, and instead of telling Friday to get Tony upstairs, I went to see him.
I walked down the basement steps, and saw him tinkering on a small object on the table.
"Hey, handsome." I said, wrapping my arms around his shoulder from behind, kissing the back of his neck.
As the days went by, Tony's confidence had began dimming.
He said he was getting old, but he wasn't.
Tony's hair wasn't even grey yet, the idiot.
I knew he only thought that because I'm younger than him, and still in my prime years, but I didn't care for a single second.
I made sure to tell him every single day, that he was perfect to me.
Because he was.
"Hey, honey." Tony responded, placing one of his hands on my forearm, leaning down and kissing the fabric of my shirt.
"Princess needs to stop shedding. I just got a lip of dog hair." He said, making me chuckle and wipe the stray dog hairs off my shirt, plucking one off Tony's lips.
"It's shedding season, leave her alone." I joked, wrapping my arms around him again as he chuckled.
"Since when was every season shedding season?"
I laughed, and he turned his chair around to look at me.
"You're so beautiful." He smiled, and I kissed his forehead as he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me in for a hug.
"I love you, Tones." I whispered, hugging him back as he sighed happily.
"I love you so much, Aphrodite Harper." He mumbled into my shirt, leaning his head into the crevice of my chest as I moved my arms around his neck.
"I don't deserve you." Tony continued, and I shook my head, squeezing him tightly.
"That's where you're wrong, my love." I said, tilting his chin up to look at me.
"You deserve every single thing this world has to offer you." I said, making him close his eyes and smile, humming in content.
"So do you." Tony responded, still staring at me, and I smiled.
"Well it offered me you, how could I say no to that?" I asked cheekily, leaning down and kissing him on the nose, making him grin at me.
"Well it's about you offer you something else, promise you'll say yes?" Tony asked, tilting his head, and I looked at him confused.
"Are we getting another dog?"
"Oh, god no." Tony laughed, standing up and taking my hand.
"Just promise me you'll say yes?" He asked, and I nodded.
"Always."
"I was hoping you'd say that." Tony said, letting go of my hand and stepping away from me.
"What are you-" I cut myself off when I saw Tony reach into his back pocket, taking out a small velvet box.
He looked at me with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, and got down on one knee.
Holy shit.
"I was going to do this in a big, romantic gesture, but I knew something simple and intimate was more your style. I hope this is okay." Tony said nervously, and I nodded, barely able to talk.
"It's perfect." I whispered, and he smiled nervously.
"Aphrodite Harper," Tony began, locking eyes with me as I stared at him with nothing but all the love in the world.
"I know we've only been together for about two years," He said, making me laugh.
We've barely been together for two years and we've already adopted a sixteen year old kid and two dogs.
"But I have never been this happy. The first day I met you, I wanted to push you away, because I knew how special you were. I was captivated by you the second you walked in the door."
I started tearing up, but I didn't say anything, because I knew he wasn't done.
"It took everything I had to stay away from you. I knew we were both in a hard place, and I wanted us to start on the right foot. But when we had to share a room at Clint's house, I couldn't contain myself anymore."
He chuckled at the memory, making me smile.
"Yes." I said quickly not being able to help myself, and Tony held up his hand.
"I'm not done." He playfully whined, and I put a hand over my mouth to stop myself.
"You are stunning, Aphrodite. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and you're funny and you are so, unbelievably kind. You have so much love to give, and I wake up grateful every single day of my life, that you give that love to me."
This man is incredible.
"I know you shut me down when I say I don't deserve you, but I really don't. You are the most amazing human I have ever met, and I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy."
I wanted to say yes so badly, but I didn't want to interrupt him again, so I held back a giggle and waited for him to finish.
Tears fell down my cheeks as I watched Tony open the small box, revealing a diamond ring.
The ring was a princess cut with a large diamond in the middle, and diamonds adorning the band.
It was the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen.
"Aphrodite Harper, will you marry me?" Tony asked, looking up at me.
He was crying, and I immediately nodded.
"Yes!" I exclaimed, and he quickly let out a sigh of relief, standing up and taking my hand.
I watched as he slid the engagement ring onto my ring finger, and he hugged my tightly.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him back as we both cried, and he pulled his head back to lean our foreheads together.
"I love you so much." He breathed out, and I kissed him passionately, trying to pull his body closer to mine.
"I love you so much, Tony." I whispered, and he kissed my nose, making us both smile.
Tony pulled away, taking my hand and leading me upstairs, pulling a bottle of champagne out of the fridge.
So that's why he bought champagne.
Good on me for not drinking it last night like I wanted to.
I grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet, and he popped the bottle open, making me squeal and giggle as the bottle overflowed and he carelessly poured our glasses to the top.
"We're engaged!" I exclaimed, and we clinked our glasses together, taking a sip at the same time.
"We're engaged." Tony repeated, taking my hand and kissing the ring, making me blush.
I'm going to spend the rest of my life with Tony Stark.
"Wanna start planning the wedding, future Mrs Stark?" Tony asked, taking my hand, and I nodded, sipping my glass.
"I would be delighted, future Mr Harper." I said, making Tony roll his eyes, and I laughed.
"I'm joking, obviously I'm going to take your name."
We went to sit on the couch, and couldn't keep the smiles off our faces.
"Hey, baby?" Tony asked, and I looked over at him, watching as he poured himself another glass of champagne.
"Yeah, honey?" I asked, and he smiled, looking nervous.
"You know that dream you had about the future? The one Wanda put in your head?" He asked, and I nodded, knowing exactly what he was going to ask.
"It was me, wasn't it? That's why you didn't want to say anything?" He asked, and I nodded.
"So, are we gonna have two kids?" Tony grinned, and I shook my head.
"Three, Tones." I corrected him, and he looked confused.
"There were only two in your vision." He pointed out, making me laugh.
"Yes, but you're forgetting our non biological child, Tony. Peter makes three kids." I said, and he nodded in realisation.
"Well, how about we get married first." He grinned, taking a sip of his drink.
"Absolutely."
"Outside or inside?" Tony asked, and I looked at him, chuckling.
"Inside." We said at the same time, and high fived.
"Big or small wedding?" I asked, sipping my champagne.
"Small." We said in unison, making me smile.
"Band or DJ?" Tony asked, and we looked at eachother intently.
"Band." We said, and I rolled my eyes, laughing.
"Okay, open bar or pay for it?" I said, wiggling my eyebrows.
"Open bar." Tony said straight away, making me giggle.
"Of course."
"Hey, what about your bridesmaids?" Tony asked, and I tapped my chin.
"Easy. Beth will be my maid of honour. Savannah and Georgia will be my bridesmaids." I answered, making Tony nod in approval.
We weren't going to discuss inviting the other Avengers yet.
It wasn't the right time.
"Rhodey will be my best man. Happy and Peter can be my groomsmen." He said, and I sipped my champagne.
That works.
"Peter's going to be home soon." I pointed out, and Tony nodded.
"Quickie on the kitchen counter?" Tony asked, smirking at me, making me laugh.
"How could I say no?"