Maria
"She's beautiful, Tony." Pepper said from the hospital bed, looking over at him as he was holding his new baby. He looked up and smiled at his best friend, not knowing how to express how grateful he was for her giving them this opportunity. Pepper seemed to know what he wanted to say though, and smiled.
"You deserved it. Both of you, and I was more than happy to help." she said softly, and Tony nodded swallowing the lump in his throat. He walked over to Pepper and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Thank you, Pep." he whispered, and she gave him a small smile and a kiss on the cheek in return.
"Where's Nat? She left pretty quick after the baby was delivered." Pepper asked, watching as he settled the baby back into the bassinet, before sitting in the chair beside it, his eyes never leaving his daughter's. He watched her quietly for a minute before looking up at his friend with a sigh.
"She went to get Peter. But...I also think she was scared. I barely convinced her to be here for the birth." Tony said thoughtfully, his eyes unfocused as if his mind was somewhere else.
"Why would she be scared?" Pepper asked after a few moments, and Tony shook his head taking a deep breath.
"She wasn't there for this part with Peter. And this time, it's her child too, not just mine, and I think she's scared of accepting something this good and precious for herself. Part of her still thinks she doesn't deserve it, too much red in her ledger or something like that." Tony said, a sad smile on his face as he looked back at his daughter.
"She knows she deserves this, probably more than anyone, right?" Pepper asked softly, smiling at the picture of father and daughter in front of her. Tony shrugged.
"I don't know. I'm trying to get her to see. Hopefully when she gets back and holds her, she'll realize it." he said hopefully. At that moment there was a soft knock on the door, before it opened revealing his son, looking shy. Tony felt a wide smile spread across his face and he walked over to meet Peter.
"Hey bug. You wanna meet your new sister?" he asked, on the verge of tears at the thought that his son was actually here to meet his sister, when they never thought he would. Peter gave a timid nod, and Tony walked over and wrapped his arm around his son and lead him over to the bassinet. Peter let out a small gasp as he looked down at the bundled baby.
"She's so cute, Dad." Peter whispered, reaching and rubbing his thumb over his sister's small hand. Tony smiled, before looking at the doorway and seeing Natasha standing there, eyes wide. He ruffled Peter's hair a bit before walking over to his wife.
"Why don't you come hold her, and we can tell Pete what we named her?" Tony asked softly, and his wife looked up at him, a strange vulnerability in her eyes.
"Tony..." she whispered, but he shushed her and grabbed her hand, leading her over to their children. He let go of her hand to gently lift his daughter into his arms, and he turned handing her gently to Natasha, who had no choice but to hold her. Once she had their daughter in her arms he stepped back and watched her warily. Natasha stood there frozen for a minute before she finally looked down at their baby.
He watched as his wife's eyes filled with wonder, and then with tears, as she stared down at their daughter. She looked up as a tear traveled down her cheek. He reached up and gently wiped the tear and caressed her cheek. She looked up at him with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. He smiled softly back and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before leaning down and pressing one to his daughter's head as well.
"So...what's her name?" Peter asked quietly, not wanting to break the moment, as he stood to the side watching his parents. Tony let out a small laugh before pulling his son to his side.
"Maria Natalia Stark." Tony replied, and Natasha sent him a small smile, before passing the baby off to a startled Peter.
"I love it. Hi Maria...I'm your big brother. It's so good to meet you." Peter whispered, looking down at his sister with a fond smile. Tony felt his breath hitch in his throat a bit at the thought that this almost didn't happen. He felt Natasha squeeze his hand, and she looked at him knowingly. He lifted her hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss to her hand.
"We deserve this, right?" Natasha whispered quietly, for only him to hear. He looked over to where his son was smiling down at his daughter and he smiled too.
"Yeah, we do." Tony replied, pulling her into his arms as they both watched their children begin to bond, fulfilling a dream they never thought would be possible.
---
A few months later
---
"Come on Maria...say Daddy." Tony chanted, watching his daughter stare up at him blankly. Peter snorted.
"I think staring at her is really helping." he commented, earning a glare from his dad. Peter shrugged.
"Hey. Your first word was Pep...so I need to redeem myself." Tony mumbled, and Peter sat up, furrowing his eyebrows.
"My first word was Pep...why would my first word be Pep?" Peter asked, and Tony glanced at him quickly with a shrug.
"I was a single dad. I panicked a lot...and I called Pepper way more than I would like to admit." he answered and Peter let out a small huff of laughter.
"What about Mom? Didn't you know her then?" he asked, walking over and sitting next to his dad, joining him in watching Maria wiggle around.
"Yeah, but she was still doing secret agent stuff...and...it's all a bit complicated to be honest." Tony rambled, attention still fixed on Maria. Peter nodded absently, before grabbing one of Maria's hands and waving it around.
"Aren't you the cutest baby in the whole world?" Peter cooed, smiling brightly. Maria's eyes followed him and she gave him a gummy smile. When he let go, her smile vanished, and she lifted both her hands in his direction.
"Pee" was the next sound that came out of her mouth, and Peter gaped. Tony just groaned and looked over at him with a glare. When Peter didn't move to pick her up, Maria squirmed some more, hands still reaching for him.
"Pee." she said again, and Peter let out a laugh, before scooping her up and cuddling her against his chest. He looked over at his dad with a smirk. Even though it sounded more like pee rather than Peter, he still counted this as a victory.
"Looks like you're 0 for 2, old man." Peter laughed. Tony just let his head fall back in defeat and stared despondently at the ceiling. He turned when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
"What's wrong with your dad?" his mom asked, entering the room, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised. Peter grinned.
"Maria said her first word." he answered, and his mom smiled in surprise.
"And it wasn't Daddy, I'm guessing?" she asked, playfully poking Tony in the forehead. The man grumbled and swatted her hand away bitterly.
"Nope. It was Peter." he answered, sending a betrayed look towards his daughter. His mom let out a soft laugh, and pulled his dad in for a hug.
"It's okay, baby. At least it's not Pep." she teased, and Tony let out another groan, and burying his face in her shoulder. She sent Peter a wink over Tony's head.
"It's okay, Dad. I'll teach her Mama next. Then mayyybe, we'll get around to Daddy." he said with a smirk, but his dad just grumbled more into his mom's shoulder. Natasha rolled her eyes, but kissed the top of Tony's head.
"Okay. Enough teasing, both of you. It's time for Maria's nap anyway." she said, pushing Tony off of her, and taking Maria out of his arms. Tony was just sitting there, glaring at Peter, and Natasha ran her fingers through his hair as she passed.
"Hey, when I get back, you two better have made up. Or you're both sleeping with Gerald." she said playfully, walking up the stairs.
"You heard the lady. Let's go get the kitchen ready." Tony said, standing up. Peter gave him a curious look, but followed.
"Why?" Peter asked as they walked to the kitchen.
"Because Bucky and Steve are coming over for dinner. And the kitchen needs to be able to make enough food for three super metabolisms." Tony replied. They worked together silently before they heard the front door open
---
"Thank you for dinner Tony." Steve said, and Bucky nodded.
"Yeah man, if I had known you could cook better than Stevie here, I'd come here more often." Bucky joked, earning himself a shove from Steve. Tony laughed, standing up and grabbing plates off the table.
"I already have one super metabolism to feed, thank you very much, I don't need another." He replied, smiling when Steve walked over to help him clean up the dishes. He was elbow deep in dishes when Maria started crying from her swing. He turned around to see Bucky wave Natasha off with a smile, as he went over and gently lifted Maria out of her seat, shushing her quietly.
"He's been talking about this dinner all week." he looked over with a start to see Steve leaning on the sink next to him. He raised his eyebrow before turning back to the dishes motioning for Steve to dry. The other man picked up a dish towel with a small smile.
"So Bucky secretly loves my company huh?" Tony asks with a smirk, and Steve chuckles, taking a dish from his hand to dry.
"I would deny it, but yeah. You and your family. It makes him feel...at home I guess? Being around a family again. He kept asking me if I got the day right from the moment we planned this." Steve replied, and Tony looked over in shock before shaking his head.
"I had no idea. You guys can stop by whenever you want, you know that right? That's why you live in that amazing mansion I built you up the road?" Tony joked, never one to let the feeling talks linger. Steve rolled his eyes, and Tony knew that the other man knew what he was doing. Tony handed Steve the last dish before turning around and leaning on the sink.
"Yeah, we know. At least I do." Steve replied, turning around as well. Tony furrowed his eyebrows at the sentence, turning his attention to Steve.
"What do you mean?" Tony asked quietly, and Steve just shrugged, attention fixed on Bucky and Maria.
"Buck...he uh. He still feels guilty...about your parents." Steve paused and glanced at Tony quickly before continuing. "He doesn't feel like it's right to be around your kids when he stole their grandparents from them." Steve finished. Tony remained silent, waiting to see if the feeling of grief and betrayal would hit him like it used to at the mention of his parents, but it didn't.
He turned to see Bucky holding Maria high in the air before bringing her down and blowing a gentle raspberry on her cheek, earning a cute giggle from the baby. Peter was sitting nearby, videoing the whole thing. And when he looked at Natasha, he was not surprised to see her attention on him, as if she knew the nature of his and Steve's conversation. He could tell she was asking him if he needed her to step in. He shook his head minutely, letting her know he was okay, and she turned her attention back on their kids with a soft smile.
He finally looked over to Steve, who was watching Bucky with a fond look on his face.
"When I first found out...I was angry. I hated him...for what he did. For taking my mom away from me. Then when I figured out what HYDRA did to him...I was still angry but I knew it wasn't him. I was mad for a while...but..." he trailed off, and Steve watched him silently, waiting for him to continue. He had a resigned look on his face, like he figured Tony was going to hold on to that anger.
"But Cap. When I lost Peter...it put everything into perspective for me." Steve looked shocked that he was bringing it up, but stayed silent, his eyes wide. "I realized that none of that mattered to me, because my family has never been with my parents, at least not for a long time. Peter and Nat were my family and I had lost Peter...and that hurt more than losing my parents ever did. He is my whole world. Maria too. And while my mother would have loved them, I don't think I would have wanted Howard anywhere near either of them." Tony said, and Steve looked down guiltily at that and Tony nudged him.
"Long story short, I harbor no ill feelings, towards either of you, because you both helped me get him back and keep him safe. And I know you and Bucky would do anything to keep them both safe. Besides who needs boring old grandparents...when they can have a couple 100 year old strange uncles?" Tony said, ending with the joke directed at Bucky as well, earning a surprised laugh from Steve. He turned away pretending he couldn't see Steve wiping tears from his eyes. He met Bucky's eyes across the room, and he gave the man a smile, which the man tentatively returned.
Tony pushed himself away from the counter, clapping his hands together.
"Okay. Even though you live up the road, I think a movie night slumber party is in order, who's in?" Tony said, watching as Peter smiled in excitement, turning to Steve and Bucky, who both looked hesitant.
"Come on Uncle Steve." Peter begged, and he watched as the hesitance left Steve's face in an instant.
"As long as Bucky's in?" Steve asked, looking at Bucky. He watched as Peter got a thoughtful look on his face, before it was replaced with a small smirk.
"What do you say, Uncle Bucky?" Peter asked innocently, as if he didn't know the effect those words would have. Tony let out a small laugh, wrapping his arm around Natasha's waist, as he watched Bucky's face turn white with shock. Steve was also a bit shocked, before he recovered, trying to avoid laughing. Bucky looked straight at Tony, as if asking permission to be called an Uncle. Tony nodded with a smile. Bucky looked relieved, smiling down at Maria who was still babbling in his arms.
"That sounds great." he replied softly, earning a cheer from Peter, which caused Maria to giggle.
---
Tony shot up with a gasp, his breaths stuttering in his chest.
"Stark? Tony, you alright?" he heard a voice ask. He turned to see Bucky staring at him, a curious look on his face. He shook his head wildly, eyes flying frantically over the room, searching. When he couldn't find what he was looking for, his breath hitched in his throat, and he felt a sob leave his mouth.
"Tony?" he heard distantly, but he couldn't pull his attention away from the grief that was clutching at his lungs. "Steve...Steve wake up. Help him...I don't..." "I'll talk to him, you go get Nat." He could hear the voices around him speaking, but they felt far away as he struggled to stop the sobs wracking his body.
"Tony, can you tell me what's wrong?" he could tell it was Steve talking to him now, and he tried to get some words out, but he couldn't get them past the lump in his throat. He shook his head frantically, before soft hands covered his face and a familiar perfume filled his nose.
"Hey love, can you breath for me?" Natasha's gentle voice filled his ears, and he felt another sob wrack his body as he reached out blindly and wrapped himself around his wife.
"Shhh. Okay, baby...I've got you. We're all okay. We're in our cabin home, as you like to call it. Bucky and Steve are here, you invited them to stay over. I just put Maria to sleep, and Peter-" he let out a broken sob at the name, silently begging for her not to confirm what he knew was true. That his son was dead. His baby boy, was gone. "Okay, okay. I know what's going on. Peter's safe. I sent him to bed when I put Maria down. He's alive, he's okay. Bucky is going to get him now okay, and you can see for yourself. Just breathe, love." Natasha continued, and Tony clenched his eyes shut tighter, hoping more than anything that her words were true.
"Dad?" he heard a sleepy voice say after a few moments. He shook his head into Natasha's shoulders, not knowing if he was making up that voice in his mind. He felt an hand tug on his sleeve gently, and he pulled away reluctantly, looking through teary eyes to see his son staring at him with eyes red from sleep.
"Petey-" he choked out, and he felt skinny arms envelop him and he let out a few shaky sobs.
"It's okay, Dad. I'm alright. You saved me, remember? I'm okay. You gotta breathe though, okay?" Peter's soft voice filled his ears, and he nodded, trying his best to follow his son's breathing. After a while he felt himself calm down, and he pulled away, running his hands over his face, as if that could hide the evidence of his crying. He looked around the room and only saw Natasha and Peter sitting close by watching him carefully. Natasha seemed to read his mind, because she spoke up softly.
"They went to check on Maria." she said softly, taking his hand in hers.
"Is she okay?" he asked, his voice hoarse. She nodded, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles.
"Yeah, she just started fussing, they seemed to have calmed her down." she responded, and he nodded to himself, finally turning to look at his son.
"I'm sorry, bug." he whispered, watching as a confused look passed Peter's face, his nose scrunched.
"What are you sorry for?" Peter asked, looking over to his mom, who gave him a sad smile.
"I-for scaring you?" Tony said, the words coming out like a question. Peter looked at him for a moment before rolling his eyes.
"You're ridiculous. I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. How are you feeling?" Peter asked, and Tony looked over at Natasha in surprise, and she just shrugged her shoulders at their son's words.
"I'm tired." Tony responded, and Peter nodded as if expecting that answer. He stood up, brushing off nonexistent dirt, before offering Tony his hand.
"Come on, we'll have a sleepover in my room." Peter said, still looking at him expectantly. Tony felt a rush of love fall over him as he stared at his son, and he smiled.
"Yeah. Sounds good." he said, reaching up and taking Peter's hand.
---
Tony pressed a quick kiss to her head before he followed Peter out of the room, shoulders slumped with exhaustion. She leaned back against the couch with a sigh, taking a moment to collect herself, before she heard two sets of heavy footsteps re-enter the room.
"You okay Nat?" Steve's voice broke the silence, and she opened her eyes to see the two soldiers settle in front of her, looks of concern on their faces. She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair, and nodded.
"Yeah. It's just hard sometimes...to see him like that." she replied softly, and the two men nodded sympathetically.
"How often...if you don't mind my asking, but how often does that happen?" Bucky asked softly, his voice polite. She shrugged.
"Um, it depends. It hasn't happened that much lately, but when it does it's bad. Peter helps a lot though. When he wasn't...you know here...it was a lot worse. He wouldn't even get out of bed some days, so even if it's hard now, it's better than that." she said quietly, her eyes fixed on her hands.
"I'm so sorry Nat." Steve whispered, squeezing her knee if comfort. She placed her hand over his with a smile.
"Thanks Steve. But it's okay, we'll get through it. It's going to take some time to be okay again. Losing your son isn't something you can just walk away from unscathed, even if we got him back." she said with a sad smile. Steve nodded, but Bucky just furrowed his brows in concern.
"How are you doing with it, Natalia?" he asked, eyes boring into hers. She sighed.
"I'm doing okay. I don't have nightmares like Tony. It's more like I forget he's back and it's like there's this weight on my heart and then when he walks into the room, it feels like I can't breathe. He can always tell, though, and then he'll follow me around for hours afterwards. It's hard...but I'm okay. I mostly just worry about him and Tony." she replied honestly, knowing she needed to talk about it to someone.
"I think they are going to be just fine, especially with someone as strong as you with them. Now why don't you go join them and get some sleep? We'll listen for Maria for you." Steve said, helping her stand up. She looked over at them for a minute before nodding gratefully.
"Thank you. I don't know what we would do without you." she said, pressing a kiss to both their cheeks, before heading up the stairs to Peter's room.
She opened the door softly, and let a smile cross her face at what she saw. Tony was leaning up against the pillows, eyes trained out the window, as his hand worked it's way through Peter's curls. Peter, was dead asleep, his head pillowed on his dad's chest, breathing softly. She closed the door, earning Tony's attention as he flashed her a tired smile.
"Hey, love." he whispered as she walked over. She smiled at him, before settling in on his other side, his free hand automatically finding her hair as well.
"How's he doing?" she asked quietly, brushing some of the bangs off her son's forehead. Tony smiled.
"He fell asleep as soon as we got settled, the little stink." Tony whispered fondly.
"And you? How are you doing?" she asked after a few moments of silence. Tony glanced her way quickly, before returning his eyes to Peter's face, shrugging softly.
"I'm okay. I...I thought since he was back the dreams would go away." he replied, voice so quiet she could barely hear it. She nodded carefully.
"It's not going to be that easy." she said, and he let out another sigh before nodding.
"I know. Where's Maria?" he asked then, changing the subject. She thought about pressing the topic more, but decided against it.
"Steve and Bucky said they'd listen for her and come get me if she needed something." she replied. Tony smiled, before pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"I knew it was a good idea to keep them around." he replied, his voice growing thick with sleep. She glanced up to see him fighting to keep his eyes open, now that he was relaxed.
"Yep. You're a certified genius, honey." she responded quietly, earning a huff of laughter from the man before his eyes finally closed and he drifted off to sleep.
"I love you both so much, my beautiful boys." she whispered, pressing a kiss to both their heads, before she too settled down to sleep.
---
4 years later
---
"Maria! Your brother's here!" Tony shouted up the stairs, and he smiled when he heard an excited squeal, followed by the pattering of small feet on the wood floors. Tony shook his head fondly, waiting patiently on the stairs, his face stretching into a smile at the bright green eyes that met his.
"Come on, Daddy. Petey's here!" she whined, grabbing his hand and trying to drag him to the door. He let out a huff of laughter, but allowed the small hands to pull him to the front door. He swept her up into his arms once they reached the porch, stopping her from running to the still moving car.
"PETEY!" Maria shrieked in his ear, causing him to wince. He had to hold her a little tighter as she bounced up and down in his arm. He turned his attention to the car, to see his other kid get out of the passenger seat, a wide smile on his face. Maria hit his arm a few times, and he relented, placing her gently on the ground. She squealed again, and took off towards her brother at full speed.
"Hey Ree!" Peter said, catching her easily and swinging her onto his hip. Tony raised an eyebrow, and opened his mouth to ask the question, but his wife beat him to it.
"Ree?" she asked, closing the driver's side door, looking at their kids. Peter shrugged.
"She wanted a nickname that rhymed with Petey. So we came up with Ree. She loves it." he responded, blowing a raspberry into the little girls cheek, earning a round of small giggles.
"Petey, stop!" Maria giggled, and Tony nodded.
"Yeah, Petey. Stop, and come give your dad a hug." Tony said, walking down the steps. Peter rolled his eyes but met him halfway, and Tony wrapped his arms around his son tightly.
"Hey, bug." he whispered, and Peter tightened his grip minutely in response.
"Hey, Dad." he said back, finally pulling away with a bright smile.
"How's college?" Tony decided to ask next, pulling a squirming Maria out of Peter's arms and into his. She let out a yawn, and rested her head on his shoulder. Peter watched with a soft smile, before replying.
"Dumb." he replied, turning back to the car to retrieve his bags. Tony let out a snort.
"How eloquent, Pete." he joked, and Peter laughed. Natasha walked over and rolled her eyes at their banter, before turning her attention to their daughter.
"I think it's about nap time, huh baby?" she asked the little girl quietly. He felt Maria shake her head against her shoulder.
"No. I wanna play with Petey." she whined, but Tony knew she was getting tired since missing her nap to wait for Peter.
"How about...we watch a movie with your brother, huh? Does that sound like fun, peanut?" he asked softly, and Maria perked up a bit and nodded. By that time, Peter had rounded the car again with all of his bags.
"I hear it's movie time?" he asked with a goofy grin. Tony shook his head fondly before leading them all into the house. He helped them get situated on the living room couches before starting the movie.
He had thought that Maria would conk out about ten minutes into the movie, but she was still going strong, talking to Peter in a small quiet voice. Tony got up, pretending that he was headed to the kitchen, and stopped a little bit behind the pair, listening to the conversation.
"So what does a hero do, Petey?" Maria's small voice asked, her big green eyes turned to her older brother. He could see Peter's face scrunch up a bit in thought, before he looked down with a small smile.
"They are people who help other people when they need it." Peter answered, and Maria thought about it for a moment, before smiling.
"So...are mind doctors heroes?" Maria asked, and Tony froze. That's how they explained his therapist to her, when she asked why he had to see her if he wasn't sick. He held his breath as he watched as Peter looked around in confusion.
"Mind doctors...like Dr. Strange?" Peter asked, voice curious as he tucked some of Maria's hair behind her ear. Maria let out an impatient sigh, that reminded him of Natasha. He rolled his eyes fondly, feeling a pair of arms wrap around his waist. He looked down and saw Natasha giving him a curious look. He just held his finger up to his lips, before pointing to the pair on the couch.
"No Petey. Dr. Strange isn't a real doctor, he's a wizard." Maria replied, like she was explaining something simple. Peter lifted an eyebrow at her before nodding.
"Okay. So not Strange. What do you mean by head doctor then, Ree?" He asked softly, and Maria scrunched her nose up a bit like she was thinking, making him smile.
"Like the one Mama makes Daddy go to, when he feels sad." Maria said, and Tony could see Peter freeze for a second, before looking up and making direct eye contact with him. He should have known Peter knew they were there. His son's eyes were wide, like he was asking for help. Tony shook his head, and whispered under his breath so only Peter would hear, "You're doing great, bug." Peter smiled a bit, before nodding and turning back to Maria.
"Yeah. Head doctors are heroes. Very important heroes." Peter replied fondly, and Maria nodded.
"Good. I'm going to become a head doctor. I can help people not be sad, and that way I can be a hero like you, and Mama and Daddy." Maria replied with a determined nod. Peter looked down at her in wonder, before looking over to them.
"That's sounds like a great idea, Peanut." Tony replied softly, earning a beaming smile from the little girl.
"Of course it is. I thought of it all by myself." Maria said, popping the serene atmosphere like a balloon. Tony snorted, while Natasha shook her head.
"She's your kid." she replied, before walking away. Tony sent a wink to his kids, before following his wife.
"I like how she's only mine when it's convenient for you." he joked, smiling sweetly at the death glare being aimed in his direction.
"You're lucky I need you to take care of Maria when she's up at the crack of dawn." Natasha said with a flat voice. Tony laughed, before gathering his wife in his arms and pressing a kiss to her head.
"She's a terror." Tony agreed, which finally caused a small smile to spread across Natasha's face.
"Yeah, but she's our terror. And she wants to be a hero." Natasha replied in a whisper, her attention on the two kids giggling in the distance. Tony followed her gaze.
"Yeah...but at least it's a mental health hero, rather than the kind that swings around buildings dodging bullets." Tony said, and Natasha let out a soft laugh. Suddenly she stopped and looked at him, a vulnerable look in her eyes, and he watched her with his eyebrows drawn together.
"We did okay right? With Peter?" she finally asked, voice small and almost silent. He glanced over and could tell Peter was listening by the tilt of his head, even though his attention was focused on Maria. He took a deep breath.
"We did our best, Tash. I think it worked though, right? He's in college, he's being trained to be the next leader of the Avengers, he's...." he trailed off, and Natasha's eyes softened a bit before she nodded.
"Alive." she finished for him, and he nodded, letting out a shaky breath.
"Yeah. So I think we did okay." Tony finished with a smile. Natasha ran her fingers through his hair gently, while they both watched their kids from afar. Tony lived in the moment for a bit longer, before he ruined it with a sarcastic comment.
"But hey, if he ends up messed up...at least we have Maria as a do over." he said, and Natasha rolled her eyes with a chuckle.
"Only you, Tony." she said, moving away from him and into the kitchen, pulling ingredients from the fridge for dinner. He smiled.
"You're life would be boring without me, just admit it." he said, smirking. Natasha stopped for a minute, staring at him with a calculating gaze for a moment. He watched as she found something in his eyes and she broke out in a small smile.
"Yeah, my life would definitely be different if I hadn't met you." she said, a hint of seriousness in her voice, and he could tell she was imagining a future without them in it. He walked over a grabbed her hand before she could get caught up in the thoughts, and he brought it up to his mouth to kiss it gently.
"Well you never have to worry about it, cause I'm right here." he whispered, and she nodded quickly, sending him a grateful look. They stood like that for a minute, before she turned away and grabbed a cutting board. When she turned away all trace of sadness was gone from her eyes, and she handed him the board.
"Start cutting vegetables, and before you complain yes you have to eat them. You too, Peter!" she said, earning a grumble from the next room. Tony let out a soft laugh before doing as he was told, feeling content.
---
TONY AND NATASHA WILL RETURN ;)