Tony smiled. A soft breeze of wind caressed his cheek. He could smell the spruce trees around him; the sweet scent of needles and resin. He stood still, taking in the rich colours of the lake in front of him, for just a moment longer. Warm feeling of calmness filled his chest.
Quiet laugh reached through the steady air and made Tony’s heart flutter.
He breathed in the fresh air one more time, before turning around and returning to the house.
Reddish wood looked rough, yet gave the house a feeling of warmth and cosiness. But something else gave it the feeling of home.
Tony walked towards the familiar voices, coming from the living room. He stopped at the doors and leaned on the door-frame.
Pepper and Morgan sat on the floor, playing Uno.
“Don’t you dare,” Pepper said, warmth hidden behind the false threat.
Morgan smirked and put down a black “Draw four” card.
“No, no, no,” Pepper playfully cried in defeat.
Morgan smiled. “Red,” she said, lightly biting the edge of the last card he had in hands.
Pepper drew four cards from the deck, and pause for a moment, checking them out. Then she put down a red stop and laughed softly.
Morgan’s eyes widened in horror at first, but then she narrowed them in defiance. Pepper then put down another stop; yellow this time. She smiled triumphantly while Morgan shot daggers over her only remaining red card. Finally Pepper put down a yellow six.
“Your turn, young lady.”
Morgan stopped for a moment, looking down on her card; then she looked her mother directly into her eyes and a huge grin spread across her face. She put down a red six.
“I won!” she screamed and threw her hands into the air in victory. Loving smile curled Pepper’s lips.
Morgan suddenly noticed Tony and her smile became even wider.
“Daddy, daddy, I won!” She jumped to her feet and ran towards him.
He picked her up and spun her around.
“What?! Again?” he pretended to be surprised.
“Yes! I won three times in a row – well actually more than three – but that isn’t important …”
“Did she?” Tony looked at Pepper.
“Yes,” she laughed.
“… and now you have to make cookies,” Morgan finished.
Tony looked between the two of them for a moment, before walking towards the kitchen. “I know this was some kind of conspiracy,” he said to excited Morgan in his hands. “I never won,” he murmured under his breath. Morgan just laughed and kissed him on the cheek.
“Now,” he said and put her down, “I will make the best cookies in the universe, but you’ll have to help me.” He crouched, so that he was on the same level as her and whispered, “And if your mother comes into the kitchen, we attack her with flour. Understood?”
“Yes,” she laughed quietly.
Tony gave her a small blue and yellow apron, when the bell rung.
“Pepper?” he yelled, but there was no answer. The ringing didn’t stop. It kept getting louder and louder and louder …
Tony woke up.
He groaned at the alarm clock beside him. He slowly got up.
Pepper was already in the kitchen, making coffee.
“Morning,” she said, pouring hot liquid into a cup.
“Morning,” he yawned.
She gave him his cup and he pulled her into a quick, soft kiss. “Hey, Pep –“he started.
“I got to run. I have a meeting in twenty minutes,” she explained, “but I’ll see you later. When you look more alive,” she smiled. “We can go for a walk,” she continued, while putting on her shoes. She grabbed a bag and gave Tony a quick goodbye kiss before leaving.
Tony still stood there, in the middle of the kitchen, with a cup of hot coffee and head way to full of thoughts for this early in the morning.
---
Later that day, they went on a walk beside the river. It was a warm sunny day, and a lot of people decided to spend it outside; either walking, running or just sitting on the grass. Pepper and Tony stopped under one of the trees.
“Last night I dreamt we had a kid,” Tony said. “It was so real. We named him after your eccentric uncle – what was his name?” He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to remember. “Morgan.”
Pepper tried not to smile. “So you woke up and thought we were …?”
“Expecting,” he cut in.
“Yeah,” she said.
“Yes?” he asked.
“No.”
“I had a dream about it.” He protested. There was a sad echo lost in his words. “It was so real.”