It was strange, getting a call from Pepper Potts mid-afternoon on a Saturday.
Pepper didn’t directly contact Peter very often, not since the funeral. She occasionally spoke with May, deeming it as her duty to check in on the kid as Tony would have liked, but it wasn’t every day that Peter’s phone rang with Peppers name flashing across the screen.
It wasn’t that he was scared to speak with her, or that he didn’t want to, it was that he had been on strict house arrest for the first month and a half that he’d been home. (No matter how many times Peter told May even if he hadn’t fought Thanos, he would still have disappeared.) Once Peters home-sentence had finished he’d been busy busting his ass to catch up on school and help console his friends.
Peter was worried as he stared at the phone screen, wondering if something had happened to Pepper or Morgan.
He answered it, holding it up to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Peter, hey, it’s Pepper.” Her voice was calm, if not sounding just a tinge guilty.
“Hi Mrs. Potts.“ He greeted, his voice tight with worry. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah Peter, everything’s fine. I actually wanted to ask a favour.”
Peter relaxed, swallowing and releasing a breath in relief. ”Of course, anything.”
“I was hoping you could babysit Morgan for me...tonight.”
Peter had only met Morgan once, at Tonys funeral, which was close to three months ago now. That was the first he had heard of her, and it made his heart ache knowing that she would grow up without a father.
Pepper spoke again, her voice apologetic. “I’m sorry it’s so last minute, I understand if you have other plans or you don’t want to or-“
“No, that’s okay. It’s no problem. I’d love to see Morgan. What time do you want me to head over?”
“Is six okay?”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll see you then.”
“Great! Thank you Peter. I’ll take to you later.”
“Okay. Bye Mrs. Potts.”
Pepper looked across the room to Morgan, who was sitting at the dinner table happily drawing with some crayons.
Pepper walked over to see her, taking a seat next to her at the table.
“What are you drawing sweetheart?”
Morgan looked up, smiling. “You and me and Daddy and uncle Happy.”
She picked the photo up, holding it out so Pepper could see. It was four stick figures standing side by side, holding hands in front of what Pepper assumed was their house. The tallest of the stick figures had a blue triangle drawn on his chest. Pepper smiled sadly, reaching out to cup Morgan’s chin.
“That’s beautiful, honey. Daddy would have loved it.”
Morgan grinned, pressing the paper into Peppers hands.
“It’s for you Mommy.”
Pepper feigned shock, her eyebrows raised on her forehead. “For me? Wow! Thank you, I love it. I’ll put it up on the fridge.” She smiled down at her daughter, her heart warm.
“I love you three thousand Mommy”
Pepper felt her heart clench, but she kept smiling nonetheless.
“I love you too pumpkin. Mommy’s going to a business dinner tonight, so Peter is going to come and watch over you. You remember Peter, right?”
Morgan pouted, ignoring the question, “I don’t want you to go.”
Pepper sighed, she hadn’t left her kid with anyone but Happy since Tony died.
“I know sweetheart, but Peter is a really nice boy, I’m sure you two will have lots of fun. I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Peter’s a superhero like Daddy, right?” Morgan asked, her small face morphing into a look of curiosity.
“Peter is Spider-Man.”
Morgan’s face lit up, her eyes growing wide.
“Spider-Man’s gonna come and play with me?”
Pepper nodded, chuckling at Morgan’s excitement.
“Yep, Spider-Man is gonna come and play with you.”
At half past five Pepper fed Morgan dinner. Raindrops began to hit the windows as she piled dishes into the dishwasher, glancing back to see her daughter munching on some chicken strips.
Pepper looked up and out the window, onto the lake that sat behind their house. She thought about Peter, worried that maybe she was asking too much of him. It had only been three months without Tony, and she knew from May that Peters grades had dropped for the first few weeks.
The wound was still fresh, for everyone, and Pepper hoped that Peter wouldn’t have a hard time being in their home with their daughter that night.
+
At five fifty-five Peter stood on the porch outside of the door, thinking back to the last time he was there.
“I can’t go in there.” He huffed. Peter felt like his feet wouldn’t move, May placed her hand on his shoulder.
“Yes you can. You’re going to be fine, Peter.” May spoke in a soft, reassuring tone, trying to help Peter stay calm.
Peter felt tears fill his eyes, “I can’t say good bye to him May.” He spun around, facing her directly.
“It’s not good bye, it’s just... see you later. He’s sitting up there somewhere, working on another one of his projects, looking down on us and telling you to get a move on. Peter, if anyone knows you’re strong enough to do this, it’s Tony Stark.” She grabbed Peter, enveloping him in a hug.
“It’s going to be okay.”
Peter nodded, reaching up to wipe away a few stray tears on his cheeks.
“Thank you, May.”
Peter reached forward, pressing the door bell and hearing it ring out inside the house.
A few moments later the door swung open, revealing four-year-old Morgan Stark before him.
“Peter!” She exclaimed, reaching out for his hand. He smiled and grabbed on, letting himself be pulled into the house by the child.
“Mommy! Peter‘s here!”
“I’ll be right down sweetheart!” Pepper called from somewhere upstairs, and Peter smiled.
“I wanna show you something!” Morgan said excitedly. She pulled Peter by the hand across the house, toward the living room. She let go of Peters hand to run ahead and rummaged through an opaque plastic box that sat on the wooden coffee table in the centre of the room.
She pulled out a doll, holding it up for Peter to see.
“It’s you!”
Peter looked down at the toy in her hands, it was a Spider-Man figurine.
He grinned, “Wow that is me! Do you have any others?”
“I have the whole ‘vengers.”
She pointed to the box and Peter took a look in, spotting a few familiar faces—in doll form.
Peter crouched down so that he was at Morgan’s level. “Which one is your favourite?”
Morgan reached into the box, pulling out an Iron Man figure.
“Daddy is my favourite.”
Peter’s smile turned sad, but he nodded anyway.
“Daddy’s favourite was you!” She said innocently, looking at Peter with big eyes. “He told me a story at bedtime that you saved lotsa your friends from a big tower!”
Peter felt tears gather in his eyes, and he took a steady breath.
“Yeah? Well your Dad was always my favourite, too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Did you know that he saved the world?”
Morgan shook her head, her eyes huge.
“It’s true. That’s why your dad isn’t here, he’s busy saving the world.”
Morgan grinned, turning back to her toys.
Peter heard footsteps from the stairs, and he stood up, turning around to face Pepper. Her eyes were soft, and she smiled at Peter.
“Thank you so much for coming over Peter. Happy had a date to get to tonight.” She raised an eyebrow smugly, suggesting that there had been some teasing going on about this date that he had.
“It’s no problem Mrs. Potts.” Peter moved away from Morgan to speak with Pepper, and Pepper waved her hand as if to dismiss the prefix.
“Please, Peter, call me Pepper.”
Peter nodded, and Pepper lead him toward the kitchen.
“She’s already eaten dinner, but there are some snacks if she gets hungry. Just keep her away from the sugary stuff. Bedtime is nine o’clock, and she likes to be read a bedtime story. Make sure she brushes her teeth, and she might make you sit with her until she falls asleep. It’s been a little, um, difficult getting her to bed since Tony...” Pepper cleared her throat, ignoring her hesitation.
“I should be home by midnight, it’s just a business dinner with a few clients at Stark Industries. I can take you home tonight when I get home, but you’re more than welcome to stay the night and I’ll just take you in the morning.”
Peter nodded, absorbing all the information Pepper was giving him.
“You can help yourself to any food in the house, and you can contact me if you need to for anything at all. Or you can ask F.R.I.D.A.Y. to notify me if you run into any trouble. I think that’s it.”
“Don’t worry Mrs. Pott- Pepper. Morgan and I will be just fine.”
“Thank you again, Peter.” She picked up her purse off the kitchen counter, and made her way to Morgan.
She gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead. “Be good for Peter, okay honey? I’ll be home soon. I love you.”
“Love you Mommy!”
Pepper smiled, feeling a brief tinge of guilt that she was leaving her daughter, but she brushed it off. She put her shoes on and grabbed her keys, going on her way.
“Bye you guys, see you later.”
Pepper shut and locked the front door behind her, leaving Peter and Morgan on their own.
Morgan was quick by Peters side, holding up a beaten up Captain America doll. Peter smirked, imagining what Tony had told Morgan to make her do that to a toy version of Steve.
“Peter can we play?”
Peter knelt down, levelling himself with Morgan again.
“Sure thing. What do you wanna play?”
“I wanna play heroes!”
“Okay...what’s that?”
“I’ll be Iron Man and you can be the bad guy. I’m gonna fight you!”
Peter chuckled, nodding his head.
“Wait I need something.” Morgan said, adopting a serious expression. “I’ll be right back.”
Peter trailed behind Morgan as she marched down the hallway, determination in her walk. She brought him toward the garage and opened up the door, leaving him to wait.
Morgan emerged with a blue and gold Iron Man mask, and Peter suddenly couldn’t tell if he wanted to laugh or cry.
Morgan pulled it over her head, raising her hand toward Peter.
“Bring me the prisoners or be disintegrated.” She said seriously. Peter couldn’t help but grin. It was laugh, he definitely wanted to laugh. If he wanted to cry it was only happy tears.
Peter adopted a malicious sounding voice. “There’s no stopping me, Iron Man!” He ducked around the corner, away from Morgan and watched as she came running out after him.
“Put your hands up or I’ll blast you!”
“You’ll never catch me!” Peter ran from the hallway, landing himself out in the living room. He heard Morgan laugh as she came flying out after him. She started making various shooting noises, raising her hands at Peter. He dodged the imaginary blasts, using his fingers like a gun to shoot at Morgan.
“Boom!” Morgan exclaimed, and Peter jumped back like he had been shot.
“Ah! No! You shot me! How could you Iron Man? I’ll get you...I will!” Peter dramatically held his chest, and he plopped backward into the couch, acting like he was dying.
“You’ll....never....get....away....with...this....” Peter whispered, clutching his chest. He took one last fake breath and laid his head back, closing his eyes.
Morgan giggled from behind her mask, and she pulled it back over her head.
“That was so fun Peter!” Morgan jumped once to show her excitement, and Peter laughed.
“What do you want to play next?”
+
Peter and Morgan played more that evening, she showed him her little tent outside and Peter taught her how to skip rocks on the lake behind the house.
After, they decided to watch a movie together, so Morgan was sitting next to Peter on the couch, giving her undivided attention to the television.
“Can I have a snack?” Morgan asked sweetly, looking away from the TV to stare at Peter with big eyes.
“Sure, what are you thinking?”
Morgan hummed as if she was giving it a fair amount of thought. “Juice pops.” She declared.
“Your mom said not to give you sugar.” Peter warned, giving her a small smirk.
“Please Peter? Pretty please?”
Peter had absolutely no control over the adorable four year old that sat next to him.
“Don’t tell your mom, okay?”
“I won’t I promise.”
Peter got up off the couch, heading toward the kitchen. He hadn’t really gone in there since he’d arrived, so he took a moment to look around.
Next to the sink were two shelves with some photographs, and Peter stepped closer to get a better look.
There was a framed photo of Tony, Pepper, and Morgan, and one of Tony and Rhodey. The shelf above it displayed a photo of the Avengers, and one of Tony and Peter.
Peter picked up the photograph, feeling an overwhelming sense of grief. The photo was taken to show May that he had gotten the Stark Industries Internship, back when she didn’t know about Spider-Man.
“I got something printed, kid, for your attractive Aunt May.”
Peter cringed, turning to see what Tony was talking about.
“Please stop saying she’s attractive, it’s kind of weird.”
Tony only laughed, handing him the certificate.
It said Stark Industries across the top, and a small thank you for his successful work in the internship program, then his name in big, bold letters.
“Oh, wow, this is awesome! Thank you Mr. Stark.”
“Anytime squirt.”
“Do you mind if we take a photo? May would kill me if I told her you gave me this and didn’t even ask for a photo.”
“I was counting on it, Pete.” He motioned to Happy, who was already holding Tony’s cellphone in a photo-ready position.
“Awesome!”
Tony held the framed certificate out for Peter to grab onto so that it was evenly placed in between the two of them.
“On the count of three, say Peter is lying to his aunt!” Tony said, and Peter laughed.
He reached up his free hand behind Tony, placing a nice pair of bunny ears above Tony’s head.
Peter was still laughing after the photo was taken, and Happy offered to give them a peek. Tony had done the exact same thing to Peter, they held matching peace signs above each other’s heads.
“Gang signs? Wow. I guess I’ve taught you pretty well, huh kid?”
Peter placed the photo back on the shelf, willing away a few tears that had started to gather in his eyes. He sighed, there was nothing in the world that would stop him from missing Tony the way he did.
Peter heard a voice come from behind him.
“Juice pops are in the freezer, silly.”
Peter spun around to face Morgan, her face read something that Peter would consider mild annoyance, and he could see so much of Tony in those eyes. The small tilt of her head, near-pout across her lips. There was no question how much of Tony Morgan really had in her, but Peter could tell it was a lot.
“Right,” His voice was louder than he had anticipated, over-correcting any possibility of sadness breaking through.
Morgan was only four, but she picked up on Peters energy quickly.
“What’s wrong Petey?”
Peter sighed and silently cursed at the universe for making Tony Stark’s kid so damn observant.
“I’m okay, I just miss your daddy sometimes.” He figured honesty was a better thing to teach a child rather than hiding his feelings.
Morgan approached Peter, looking up at him with bright eyes.
“You do? I miss him too.”
Peter knelt down and offered Morgan a reassuring smile.
“Yeah, well that’s okay. Sometimes we miss people, especially people from our family.”
Morgan’s big eyes were filled with questions, but she picked out the one that Peter was expecting the least.
“Does Daddy miss me?”
Peter nodded almost instantly, “Of course he does.”
“I think he misses you too Petey. He talked about you lots.”
“Yeah? He was like a dad to me too.”
Morgan’s face lit up instantly changing the mood. “Would that make you my brother?”
Peter laughed, relieving himself of any trace of sadness. “I guess it would.”
Morgan reached out, grabbing onto Peters hand. “Okay spider-brother. Can we get juice pops now?”
“Of course we can.”
Once they finished the movie, Peter brought Morgan upstairs to get ready for bed. She lead him to her room, heading over to the dresser that stood beside her bed.
“Look at my jammies Petey.” She called, pulling open a drawer and reaching her little hands in. Peter followed her over, looking over her shoulder. Of all the pyjamas Tony and Pepper could buy their daughter, they had bought her a matching Avengers set.
“Wow Morg, those are awesome.”
He thought back to his twelfth birthday, when May had gifted him his very own Avengers t-shirt. It occurred to him that when he was younger he would have had quite a lot in common with Morgan.
Peter would never admit to Pepper that he didn’t get Morgan into bed until quarter past ten o’clock. In his defence she was really good at persuading Peter to read her endless stories, and before he knew it it was over an hour past her bedtime, and he was feeling only a little panicked.
“One more story? Please?”
Peter shook his head, she had an evil way of making big puppy-dog eyes to get what she wanted. It was so easy for her to melt Peters heart, and he could only imagine how hard it must be to raise the all too powerful little devil.
“Nope. Its way past your bed time.”
He was sitting beside Morgan’s bed, a pile of books in his lap.
“Can you stay with me?”
It was those puppy-dog eyes again, and Peter found himself nodding his head before the question was even over.
Morgan was quiet for a few minutes, nearly convincing Peter that she had fallen asleep. He sat quietly, thinking about all the things Morgan would grow up doing without her father. It nearly broke his heart.
“Peter?” Morgan whispered, her eyes wide open once again.
“Yeah?” He kept his voice to a whisper.
“Are you gonna be here in the morning?”
Peter smiled softly, “I will be.”
“Okay.” She said, closing her eyes again. She yawned, turning her head away from Peter. “Love you Petey.”
Peter swore he felt all his insides instantly turn to mush. “Love you too Morg.”
As Morgan drifted off Peter thought that really, it wouldn’t be so bad if the smile never fell from his face.
+
When Pepper walked through the door of the house, the clock read one-thirty. She kicked off her heels and pulled off her coat, longing for her bed. She quietly hoped that Peter would be staying over, as she didn’t particularly feel like driving him home that evening.
As she stepped through the house she passed the living room, noticing a pair of feet hanging off the side. The television was still on, playing reruns of some old cartoony sitcom. She retrieved the remote from the coffee table, switching it off.
Pepper first noticed the blue and gold Iron Man mask sitting idly by on the floor beside the fireplace, and she rolled her eyes. Next, she noticed the popsicle sticks sitting on the table. She wanted to laugh, of course Morgan convinced him to give her sugar, even after Peppers clear no-sugar-rule. Her daughter was just that powerful.
Pepper looked at Peter, who was passed out on the couch. Half of his face was pressed into the cushions, his arm hanging off the side. Pepper wanted to laugh, it honestly wasn’t that unusual for Peter to be asleep on her couch. Back before the snap, it was pretty common to wake up to the kid asleep on the couch at the compound. Whether it was because he wanted to, or because he got caught up in something a little further away from Queens and needed a place to crash, Tony had told him he was always welcome, and Pepper would never change that.
Beside the couch there was a basket of throw blankets. Pepper took one of them and pulled it over Peter, smiling as he shifted in his sleep. Pepper made her way upstairs, toward her bedroom. Only stopping to peek into Morgan’s room, checking up on her daughter.
+
When Peter woke the next morning, he was being stared down by an impatient four year old.
“‘Morning Morg.” His voice was low, not quite ready to be used after his sleep.
“Mommy’s waiting for you.” She said, a pout on her lips. “Said it’s time for you to go home.”
Peter sat up and rolled his head back and forth a few times, trying to stretch out his neck.
“Do you have to go already Petey?” She whined, glaring at him expectantly.
Peter nodded. “Yeah, I do. I have some things to do today.”
“Like what? Spider-Man stuff?”
“Yup. I can’t leave the city without Spider-Man for a day, now can I?”
Morgan huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. “No. I guess you can’t.”
He reached out to ruffle her hair. Morgan squealed, ducking away from Peters hand.
“I could come with you!” Morgan suggested excitedly, bouncing on her feet.
“Maybe another time Morgs, it’s too dangerous for you right now.”
“But I can be Iron-kid!” Morgan beamed, her eyes all squinty and happy.
Peter grinned back, the idea of having a little sidekick was too cute to ignore, but Peter had one job now that Tony was gone, and that was to protect his daughter no matter what.
“When you’re older, okay? For now you need to stay here and protect your mom and Happy, right? They can’t possibly survive without their Iron-kid!”
“You’re right Petey. I have to keep us safe.”
“Exactly.”
Peter turned to look behind the couch, noticing Pepper by the door. She was smiling at them, her shoes already on and her purse in hand.
“Alright,” Peter said, standing up. “I’ll see you another time, okay Morgan?”
Pepper chimed in, “Uncle Happy is just on the phone outside. Go and bother him while we head out, okay sweetheart?”
Peter laughed, of course her request was for her daughter to go bother Happy.
Morgan stretched out both her arms, wrapping them around Peters midsection.
“I’ll miss you so much Petey.”
Peter felt his heart soar, a new note of happiness was entering his life.
“I’ll miss you too Morg.”
She reached up, tugging on Peters sweater and showing that she wanted to tell him something.
He knelt down and Morgan cupped her hands around her mouth, leaning toward Peters ear.
“I love you five hundred.”
It wasn’t Morgan’s fault that she was only four and didn’t know how to whisper, because Pepper heard the whole thing, and if there were a few tears brimming in her eyes, nobody had to know.
“Wow. That’s a whole lot.” Peter whispered, his smile only pushing to grow bigger. “I love you too Morgs, I’ll see you soon, okay?”
Morgan nodded her agreement, and Peter followed Pepper to the door, slipping his shoes on.
“Bye Mommy! Bye Petey!” Morgan called, and the two of them watched as she ran to the back door of the house, yanking it open and calling out for Happy.
Pepper and Peter discussed Peters schooling during most of the drive back to Queens. She asked about his studies, his friends, and what it had been like coming back after five years.
They were pulling up to the apartment building when Pepper said, “You’re really lucky, you know. Morgan’s number scale has only ever reached Tony and I.”
Peter turned to look at her. “Really?”
Pepper nodded, putting the car into park.
“I think you should come around more. Morgan really loves you, Peter. I think it could be good for her to have a brother-like figure.”
“Yeah? I’d like that.”
“Tony would be really proud of you.”
Peppers comment took Peter by surprise, and he met her eye.
She continued, “I just mean with how well you’re doing. He would have loved to see you with Morgan.”
Peter felt his eyes get watery, but he didn’t mind. “Thank you, Pepper.” He said sincerely.
She smiled, nodding again. “You’re welcome at our house anytime Peter. If you need anything, please just call. I think Morgan would be thrilled to have Spider-Man drop in to say hello every now and then.”
“I will. I’m glad I could help out last night. And I would love to come hangout with Morgan sometime. She’s a really great kid.”
“Great enough to convince you to give her juice pops when I said not to?”
Peter smiled sheepishly, “It was those puppy-dog eyes!” He defended, his cheeks warming just the slightest.
Pepper scoffed, “Trust me, I know. She’s an evil little thing. She got it all from Tony, every single bit of it.”
Peter laughed, “I can tell.” He pushed open the car door, stepping out.
“Thank you again, and thank you for the ride.”
“Of course, Peter. I’ll see you soon.”
Peter shut the door, watching as she started the car and left him on the sidewalk. He smiled, “Yeah, you will.”