Constitute Your Dreams
Natasha’s words echoed in his mind when he opened his eyes. Asking the wrong questions? Looking at it the wrong way? What could she have meant?
And was it silly for him to be so focused on a dream? Or would it be even worse to brush it off, considering how bizarre everything was turning out?
With the kind of stubborn denial that had made him such a handful for Pepper to deal with all those years, Tony pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, deciding they could wait until after breakfast – until after what was inarguably the most important part of his day, since, if this Morgan was his Morgan, she’d already be awake and moving.
Bolstered by the thought, Tony pushed himself out of bed and pulled on some casual clothes of his that were still in the dresser drawers – and a little touched that the team had never cleared them out, had left his room exactly as he’d had it before he’d left the Avengers. Eyes bright, he opened the door and wove through the hallways, heading for the kitchen, fairly certain that was where he’d find his daughter – only to be disappointed.
“Well well well, someone’s looking particularly alert this morning considering they haven’t even had their coffee yet. Are we sure that’s Tony Stark and not some clone?” Rhodey teased from where he was seated at the breakfast table, coffee in hand and plate of eggs and bacon in front of him, and though Tony knew he was joking, he felt a jolt of fear run through him – they didn’t really suspect that he wasn’t the right Tony, did they? But Rhodey continued to grin at him, so Tony just rolled his eyes.
“I’m looking for Morgan – have you seen her?” he asked, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice and only partially succeeding, if Rhodey’s amused by sympathetic expression was anything to go by.
“She’s still sleeping. Little tyke must’ve finally hit her limit and conked out hard – she never sleeps this late,” Rhodey responded. Tony tried not to look disappointed.
“Good, I’m glad she’s getting rest,” he said, meaning it. He stumbled over to the coffeemaker, the morning haze starting to settle in now that he didn’t have his excitement to hold it at bay.
“There’s the Tony I know,” Rhodey said triumphantly when Tony went to fill the coffeemaker with water and accidentally slopped half of it down the side of the machine. Tony lazily flipped him off, yawning as he grabbed a paper towel and started mopping up the water before turning on the machine.
“Where’s everyone else?” he asked, plopping into the seat across from Rhodey while he waited on the coffee to brew.
“Eh, Thor, Rocket, and Peter are late sleepers, I can never find Natasha, and Steve gets up earlier than the sun, so who knows where he is at this point.”
Tony hummed. “Wonder how our guests are doing.”
“Oh you mean the scary blue lady and the human lantern? Scary blue lady slept on her ship and human lantern is probably in the room with us right now but completely invisible or like chameleon-ing it up against the walls or some shit. Do you even know what all her powers are, man?” Rhodey asked, and Tony snorted.
“Yeah, Carol’s a powerhouse, that’s for sure,” he said, thinking about how she’d almost been able to take down Thanos on her own. He’d had to resort to taking the power stone out of the gauntlet and blasting her away to keep her from beating him.
“I’ll say. She looks like she could kill a man without even looking at him,” Rhodey declared, awe and…something else in his voice. Tony side-eyed him, his lips quirking into a near-smile.
“Wow sugar bear, I’m only home for ten minutes and you’re already cheating on me with the new girl? I can’t believe you!” Tony lamented dramatically, and Rhodey’s expression shifted from confused to surprised to embarrassed.
“What? I have no idea what you’re talking ab – “
“What’s next, are you going to start complimenting her combat technique? Her ability to blow up entire ships with her sparkle fingers? I need to know so I can tell how serious this has gotten. Once you start commenting on her sparkle fingers, I’m breaking out the wedding invitations,” Tony told him, and he didn’t bother to try to dodge when Rhodey punched him on the arm, snickering and his friend’s expression.
“You’re insufferable. Go back to space,” Rhodey grumbled as the coffeemaker beeped and Tony stood, laughing, to get his much-needed caffeine.
“I’ve heard Carol likes space. Maybe you could go with her next time, see how dark she likes her matter. See if she’ll let you unbuckle her asteroid belt and get near her wormhole. See if – “
“Stop, Jesus, for the love of Christ!” Rhodey screeched, clapping his hands over his ears and squeezing his eyes shut. Tony snickered, pouring coffee into his mug and stirring in a fuck ton of sugar. He opened his mouth to comment, when –
“Yeah, I’d like to second Mr. Rhodey, Mr. Stark.”
“Oh, God,” Tony whispered. Then, louder, “Kid, how long have you been standing there?”
“Since the thing about dark matter,” Peter said, standing in the doorway to the kitchen and rubbing sleep out of his eyes, looking waaay too innocent in his Iron Man pajama pants and SI t-shirt. Tony laughed, the sound high pitched and forced.
“It’s definitely not what it sounds like! Those were space metaphors for very, very pure, innocent things – like, uh, taking someone on a date! Or getting them flowers!” he said quickly, giving Peter a very convincing smile.
Peter only looked at him dubiously. “Asteroid belt?”
“What girl doesn’t want to get some new clothes?”
“Get near her wormhole?”
“The doorway to a girl’s room! Where you would chastely kiss her on the cheek goodnight and go your own separate ways!”
Peter stared at him, unimpressed.
“I don’t think the kid is buying it, Tones,” Rhodey stage-whispered with a shit-eating grin. Tony glared at him.
“Not another word out of you, dark matter,” he hissed, and Rhodey rolled his eyes.
“I’m just going to forget this ever happened,” Peter mumbled, shuffling into the room and making for the coffee machine in a very zombie-like fashion.
“You a little tired there, kid?” Tony asked, stepping away from the coffeemaker and sitting back down at the kitchen table.
“Nah, he’s like this every morning – completely useless till he gets at least two cups of coffee in him,” Rhodey said, smirking. “You sure he’s not yours biologically, man?”
“Ha ha,” Tony said sarcastically, sticking his tongue out at his best friend.
“What’s so funny, Daddy?”
At the sound of that voice, that beautiful, sweet, perfect voice Tony jumped to his feet, eyes scanning the room until finally, finally they landed on the most amazing thing he’d ever seen. She looked exactly as he remembered, dark hair rumpled around her shoulders, deep eyes blinking at him in innocent intelligent curiosity, sleepiness tugging at her shoulders.
“Hey, bambina,” he said, his voice sounding strange and distant to his own ears. Detachedly, he noticed Rhodey shepherding Peter discreetly out of the kitchen, leaving the two of them alone.
“Daddy?” her sweet little voice was curious and hopeful, and Tony felt frozen, relieved, grateful tears filling his eyes – but only for a moment before he kneeled down and opened his arms. With a brilliant smile, Morgan launched herself into them, arms wrapping around his neck as he hugged her to his chest.
“Hey, angel. I missed you,” he murmured, tears streaming down his face as he pressed kisses against her hair.
“I missed you, too, Daddy,” she said, her voice muffled from where her face was buried against his neck. “I thought you weren’t coming back. They said you were gone like Mommy.”
And Tony’s heart broke. “Never, baby. I could never leave my baby girl by herself,” he whispered fervently. And Morgan drew back, her lip trembling and eyes teary.
“But Mommy left?” she asked, her voice holding the slightest tenor of hope, as though she hoped maybe he wasn’t the only one who would come back to her. And god, all he wanted was to give his little girl the news she so desperately wanted.
He took her face in his hands, brushing the tears away with his thumbs. “Mommy left,” he confirmed, and Morgan’s face crumpled. He fought to keep his own face from following suit, fusing his voice with the certainty and assuredness and comfort his daughter needed. “But she’s still watching over us, bambino. You know your mommy would never truly leave you. She’s looking out for you like a guardian angel, my angel.”
Morgan looked at him, eyes searching. “Is she looking out for you, too, Daddy?”
Tony smiled. “Are you kidding? I’ve probably got Mommy running ragged trying to keep me safe! You know how much she complained about having to protect me from myself – you think she’d be able to stop now? Pshhh.”
And that drew a watery chuckle out of Morgan, the tears slowing and starting to dry up. “I miss her,” she finally said quietly, and Tony pulled her close.
“Me too, pumpkin,” he murmured.
The rain was coming down in sheets, thunder rumbling in the distance, but he didn’t care. Nor did he care about the expensive suit he was ruining, kneeling on the wet grass as he stretched his fingers out to trace the name on the gravestone.
Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts
February 18, 1973 – April 26, 2019
Beloved wife and mother.
The raindrops dripped down his face, mixing with salty tears as he tried to find the right words. “You were the best part of me, Pep. More than Iron Man, more than anything, you were the parts of me that were good. I love you more than you could ever know, sweetheart. I – I miss you so much.”
His throat felt dry as the desert and he felt wrung out, exhausted, spent in a way that even week-long inventing binges had never made him feel – and the most difficult part was yet to come. With difficulty, he turned away from his wife’s grave, turning so he was kneeling to the gravestone next to hers.
Morgan Virginia Stark
August 30, 2017 – April 26, 2019
Beloved daughter.
The words were so inadequate, so deeply inadequate, but they were all he’d been able to give her. “I’m so sorry, bambina. I was too late. I should have been here for you, and I was – “
He choked off, unable to continue, then gathered himself. “You shouldn’t have been on that plane – either of you, but especially you, my angel. If I’d just been here, you’d have stayed with me while Mommy got on the plane for her business trip. If I’d just been here, maybe I could’ve flown Mommy over myself. If I’d just…”
He broke, his voice collapsing into sobs, shoulders shaking. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry – “
“Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark, wake up, it’s just a dream!”
With a jolt, Tony jerked awake, sitting up rapidly. Peter was looking at him with concern, one hand on his shoulder as he gave him a tentative smile. “Hey Mr. Stark, you looked like you were having a bad dream, so I thought I’d try to get you up,” Peter said, his voice carefully easy. Glancing around, Tony realized he must’ve fallen asleep on the couch. Morgan was curled up on the other end, breathing soft and even, and seeing her settled the pinched, worried knot inside him.
“Thanks, Peter,” Tony croaked, and he blinked. With surprise, he brushed a palm against his face, realizing his cheeks were wet.
Peter smiled understandingly at him, backing away and settling into a chair next to him. “No problem. We all get them now,” he responded, his voice a little mournful, and Tony nodded unsurprised, then paused as a thought occurred to him.
“Hey kid,” he started, glancing over and face pinching as he tried to decide how best to word this. “Is there – do you need to let anyone know you’re sticking around here? If that’s what you’re doing?”
When Peter’s face fell, Tony knew he had his answer. “No,” he said softly, though, eyes on the floor. “No, there’s no one I need to let know.”
“Okay. Well, you can stay here as long as you like – you’re an Avenger, this is the Avengers’ Compound. No one will say anything.” Peter nodded, still looking forlorn, and Tony hesitated, uncertain if this was the right moment to bring this up. But hell, he’d have given anything to have someone say these words to him when his parents had died. So he steeled himself. “And, if you want, you can stay with me, wherever Morgan and I end up,” he offered tentatively and, when Peter’s eyes darted up, locking onto his with something like shock, he hurriedly continued. “You don’t have to, of course. Just, if you want to stay somewhere that isn’t the Compound – Morgan loves you like you’re her big brother, you’re practically family already – oomph.”
And then he was getting an armful of spiderchild. “Thank you, Mr. Stark,” Peter said fervently, pulling back and giving Tony a watery smile.
“Oh, kid, you aren’t crying, are you?” Tony asked awkwardly, smiling and patting him on the arm. “You know you can’t get rid of me, don’t you? Once I’ve claimed you as my own, you’re stuck with me for the rest of your life.”
“He’s not kidding.” Peter and Tony’s heads snapped toward the living room door where Rhodey was entering with a smirk, sauntering over to them and plopping down in a chair across from them. “Once he gets his tentacles in you, you’ll never be able to get him off.”
“Careful, platypus, you’re starting to give off tentacle porn vibes,” Tony warned him, grinning wickedly at the disgusted expression on Rhodey’s face.
“Tones, there are children present!” Rhodey gestured at Peter and Morgan, who was still sleeping peacefully.
“Hey, I’m 16!” Peter said indignantly, and Rhodey nodded, jabbing a thumb at him as he looked at Tony.
“See, a child!”
Tony let Rhodey and Peter bicker, letting his mind drift back to the dream he’d had. It had felt so real, like it was something he had experienced, or something he was experiencing right then, or something he was going to experience, except that didn’t make sense because April 26th, 2019 had already passed and his Morgan was right here. But the dream had had the same feel as the one with Natasha – a dream, certainly, but a dream that was also something more. It made him think back to Natasha’s words – what questions should he ask about this dream, then, that were the right questions? How should he be looking at it if he wanted to see it?
“ – ony? Tony, you okay?” Rhodey calling his name brought his mind back to the present, and he smiled at his now-concerned-looking friend.
“Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about Harley,” he lied quickly, his mind immediately latching onto how he actually did need to call his other kid – assuming that kid had made it. The original Harley had, but apparently that didn’t mean much in this world. Rhodey nodded knowingly.
“There’s a phone in the kitchen that everyone whose phone went missing is using until we can get new ones,” Rhodey offered, and Tony smiled and nodded, making a mental note to have some new phones shipped out here. He wasn’t sure where his own was, at this point. Probably shattered somewhere on Titan. Normally, he’d just use FRIDAY to call from his suit’s helmet or his earpiece, but his suit was still pretty shattered and his earpiece had fallen out at some point, so it looked like the shared phone would be his best bet.
“I’ll be right back,” he promised, standing up and making his way out of the room. He wound through the Compound, waving at Natasha curled up in the reading room and nodding at Rocket, who was channel-surfing and looking progressively less impressed.
He’d almost made it to the kitchen when he came across someone he wasn’t totally sure he was ready to see yet. “Tony,” Steve greeted him cordially enough, though his expression revealed his hesitance.
“Steve,” Tony responded neutrally, making to keep walking when Steve’s hand shot out and wrapped around his arm.
“Wait, uh, could we talk?” Tony blinked at him, looking down at where Steve was still grabbing him and then back up at Steve, who took the hint and released his arm.
“What about?”
Steve fidgeted uncomfortably. “I wanted to say I’m sorry. I should’ve listened to you when you tried to warn everyone about an impending invasion. I dismissed you, and I’m so sorry about that.”
Tony tried not to stare in shock. Had Cap ever apologized to him in his previous life? For that matter, had he ever apologized to Cap? Apologies were something they were both notoriously bad at, and their version of apologizing was usually talking around the issue until they both agreed they were cool. So this - this blatant, outright apology was throwing him for a major loop.
“It’s okay, I forgave you a long time ago,” Tony finally responded, and Steve gave him a strange look.
“The snap only happened 22 days ago.”
“Oh yeah. Feels like it happened years ago.” Like 5 years, to be precise. “Don’t worry, Cap, we’re good. I’m sorry my plan to protect us ended up with a murder bot trying to kill everyone.”
Steve smiled wryly. “Well, at least your mistake ended up with only a few people killed. Mine ended up with half the universe.”
Tony looked at him, long and hard. “You know that doesn’t rest all on you, Cap,” he pointed out, and Steve stilled. “Sure, you didn’t believe me – but neither did a whole lot of other people. And even if they had, there’s no telling whether or not we’d have been able to put something together quickly enough to fend of Thanos.” Steve was looking mutinous, so Tony interjected quickly, hoping to end any protests before they began. “You don’t get to take the blame for half the universe dying just because you didn’t listen to some old man prattle on about aliens.”
“You’re not just ‘some old man,’ Tony,” Steve said quietly. “You’re one of the smartest men alive, and you’re also the only one who saw the armies the Chitauri had in that wormhole. Those two facts alone should’ve made us listen to you, not even mentioning the fact that you were our teammate.”
“That still doesn’t make you – any of you – responsible for what Thanos did, Steve,” Tony argued, and when Steve still looked like he was planning to disagree, Tony sighed, waving a hand dismissively. “Regardless, it doesn’t matter now. There’s no sense in trying to assign blame or feeling guilty for not doing more. All we can do now is move forward with what we’ve got.”
Steve hesitated, internally warring with whether or not to pursue the argument further, then sighed and nodded. “You’re right. Again. And that was another thing I was wanting to talk to you about – moving forward. A lot of places were hit pretty hard in the snap – big car pileups when drivers dusted, boats crashing into the shore, and…and other stuff.”
Stomach dropping, Tony filled in where Cap had dropped off – planes crashing into things. So far, he’d mostly been able to ignore the ache of Pepper’s absence with a steady stream of complete denial that she was gone. Sure, he’d given Morgan the speech about Mom being gone but that didn’t mean he personally had accepted it. He still half-expected to run into her any time he turned a corner, scolding him for letting Morgan have that second cookie or for making too much noise in the workshop at 3 a.m. the previous night.
But she never was, and each time that realization struck him, he felt the impending inability to deny the truth any longer approaching – and that was a moment he wanted to delay as long as possible.
Perhaps some of his internal torment was visible on his face, because Steve paused, expression clouding with sympathy. “I’m so sorry about Pepper, Tony,” he said softly, and Tony twitched, forcing his face into an emotionless mask.
“It’s fine. Lots of people lost someone,” he said, trying to keep his tone flippant and probably not succeeding if Steve’s expression was anything to go by.
“Doesn’t make your loss any less painful.”
“Yeah, well. Pain’s an old friend by now.” He kept his tone light, refusing to let the discussion get any more serious than it already was; he didn’t think he’d be able to keep himself together if it did. “But anyway, you wanted to talk to me about moving forward.”
Steve frowned at the obvious change in subject but didn’t argue. “I was thinking maybe we – any of us who wanted to – could help with some of the rebuilding. With mine, Captain Danvers’s, Peter’s, and Thor’s strength, you and Rhodey in the suits, and yours and Rocket’s engineering skills, we could probably do quite a bit to help people.”
And his tone was so earnest that Tony had to blink and convince himself he hadn’t just hallucinated the conversation. “Really? I thought you’d be chasing after Thanos by now.”
Steve cocked his head. “Why would you think that?”
Because that’s what you did last time. But he couldn’t say that, so he shrugged. “Just seems like something you’d want to do. Right the wrongs and all that.”
Steve gave him a small smile. “It occurred to me,” he admitted, “but who knows if we’d even be able to beat him with our depleted forces? The stones aren’t going anywhere. I think it’s better to help get everyone back on their feet before we stage any kind of mission to challenge Thanos.”
Tony quashed down his moment of pity, knowing challenging Thanos would be pointless if this world’s Thanos did the same as his. But then again, the Steve he remembered had never mentioned anything about helping with the rebuilding efforts – so who knew what was the same anymore. “Sounds good,” he said abruptly, clapping Steve on the shoulder. “I’ll see if Peter and Rhodey are on board, and you can let us know where you need us.”
Steve blinked. “Where I need you?”
“Yeah, you’re running point on this, right?”
“Well I – “
“You’re probably going to want to contact the NYPD, if we’re starting in New York – they’ll probably be coordinating with the fire department to hit up the spots that need the most help first.”
“I’m not sure I – “
“Oh, and you might wanna approach the subject with Thor delicately. Big guy’s going through a rough time right now.”
Steve sighed. “Thanks for the advice, Tony.”
“Sure thing, Cap. Now, I’m looking for that mysterious shared phone – you wouldn’t happen to know where it is, would you?” Tony asked, glancing past Steve to the kitchen doorway behind him. Steve obligingly stepped aside.
“Yeah, it should be on the counter to your left,” he responded, and Tony stepped forward, toward the kitchen.
“Awesome. So just as a heads-up, we may be having another person joining us at Poor Depressed Bastards HQ,” Tony said over his shoulder without breaking stride.
“What? Who?” Tony paused in the kitchen doorway, turning around.
“Just a kid from Tennessee that I have a connection with and his family. If they’re all okay,” he added, his tone flippant but his heart racing at the thought that they might not be. Steve gave him a long look.
“Did you adopt another kid, Tony?” he finally asked exasperatedly, though a fond smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
Tony frowned at him. “Excuse you, I’ve done no such thing! Name one child that I’ve adopted!” he demanded, recalling Rhodey expressing a similar sentiment the day before.
Steve cocked an eyebrow. “Peter.”
“I have not adopted Peter, he’s my protégé, there’s a difference,” Tony insisted loftily. Steve rolled his eyes, unable to hold back his smile.
“I’m pretty sure you adopted that new girl – what’s her name? Nebula?” Steve added, and Tony shook his head vehemently.
“Nebula is a full-grown adult!”
“Like that would stop you.” And Tony didn’t really have a response to that, because, point. Thankfully, Steve put him out of his misery and continued, “So who is this kid anyway?”
Tony smiled softly, thinking back to the spunky, snarky kid he’d met in a garage all those years ago – literally a different lifetime, for him. “His name’s Harley, and he’s my other protégé. Smart kid, reminded me a lot of me when I was his age.”
“Oh god, you sure it’s a good idea to bring him here, then? I dunno if it’s smart to have two of you in the same place,” Steve said sardonically, and Tony manfully held back a snicker at the remembrance of there literally being two of him in the same place.
“Hey, I’m pretty sure the world won’t end just because my mini-me and I are together for an extended period of time! Like, 88% sure,” Tony declared, and Steve looked unimpressed.
“What about the other 12%?”
Tony shrugged. “Science experiment gone wrong, of course.”
“Of course.”
Tony beamed beatifically. “Now if you don’t mind, Captain, I need to call said mini-me.” Steve sighed heavily but gave him a dismissive wave, which Tony took as blanket permission and turned back to the kitchen.
The phone was sitting on the counter, just as Steve and Rhodey had said, and Tony picked it up, dialing the number he knew by heart and mentally blessing his foresight in memorizing it after the snap in a previous lifetime. As the phone started ringing, he had a moment of panic wondering if this Harley Keener’s number would be the same as his Harley’s, and then a beautifully, wonderfully familiar voice said, “Hello?”
“Kid?” Tony blurted.
“Who is this?” Harley’s voice was guarded, and that more than anything told Tony that something wasn’t quite right. But he kept his tone light, regardless.
“Who is this? You forgot me so soon? I’m offended, kid, really,” he said flippantly.
“Tony?” And now that voice was filled with hope and cautious pleasure. Tony’s heart swelled.
“Yeah, it’s me, kiddo. I wanted to check on you, make sure you were behaving, hadn’t gotten yourself into trouble again, yadda yadda.”
“Gotten myself into trouble again?” And Harley sounded delightedly affronted. “You’re the one who got me into trouble last time!”
“Pfft, that’s not how I remember it.”
“Only because you’re old and your memory’s going bad.”
“Ouch! Is that any way to speak to the guy who tricked out your garage? That’s just downright rude, really!”
“Sorry, old man, I just call it like I see it. Also, took ya long enough to call me – what, did it take you weeks to figure out newfangled technology?”
Tony gasped. “First of all, you little punk, I’ll have you know that I am the unopposed king of technology – nay, emperor even! And second, I don’t know if you watch the news, but I hitched a ride on an alien spacecraft a few weeks back – maybe you remember? Took me a little while to get back home.”
There was a pause, and then Harley very quietly said, “I’m glad you made it back alive, Tony.”
Tony’s heart panged. “I’m glad you’re alive, too, kid. How are you?” He left the question purposely broad, leaving it up to Harley as to what he wanted to reveal.
“…I’m fine.”
“Don’t lie to me, kid.”
Harley sighed, the sound scratchy over the phone. “Mom and Emily are gone.” And Tony’s stomach dropped.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, heart aching for his kid. “Are you okay? Are you taken care of?”
“Yeah, some of the adults in the town are taking care of any of the kids who don’t have parents. Benefits of living in a small town, I guess. They’re looking out for us,” Harley reassured him, though his voice still sounded heartbreakingly bleak.
“Would,” Tony cleared his throat, losing his nerve for a moment, “would you want to come live with me at the Avengers Compound? There’s another kid here your age – Peter, you’d like him – and we can keep you safe.” There was a resounding silence on the other end, and Tony panicked. “You don’t have to! It’s just an offer, no pressure. I just thought you might want a place to stay, and Morgan could use another big brother anyway, but if you want to stay with the people in your town who you’ve grown up with, of course – “
“Do you mean it?” Harley’s wobbly voice cut Tony off at the knees.
“Harley?”
“I can really come stay with you? For how long?” His voice wavered, clearly on the verge between hope and tears, and Tony felt the sudden desperate need to hug him tightly and refuse to ever let go.
“For as long as you want, Harl,” he said softly, then smiled to himself. “We’re connected, after all.” There was a choked off sob on the other end of the line that Tony didn’t comment on, staying silent until Harley had gathered himself.
“Okay,” he finally answered, voice rough but firm. “I want to come live with you.”
“Excellent,” Tony said, a true, honest, broad grin spreading across his face. “I’m pretty sure the quinjet still works, so I’ll be there in like an hour, tops – so you better pack your bags fast.”
Harley gave a watery laugh. “Sure thing, gramps.”
Tony squawked. “The disrespect in this household! And you’re not even here yet!”
When they said their goodbyes, it was with a lot more lightheartedness than how they’d said their hellos, and Tony was grinning, relieved and excited, when he finally hung up the phone.
“So I take it the conversation went well?” Tony whirled around to see Steve silhouetted in the doorway, smiling at him.
Tony beamed in return. “It did! One new Tony Stark minion coming right up!” he announced happily.
“Good, I’m glad to hear it,” Steve responded warmly.
It was becoming increasingly clear to Tony that he was destined to never have a normal dream again.
”Okay, kiddo, you gotta be really, really quiet so we can launch this before your mom catches us,” Tony whispered. The little red-headed boy nodded at him, brown eyes serious as they snuck through the house, project tucked very obviously under Tony’s shirt. The door creaked slightly as he opened it, and they both glanced worriedly behind them, afraid Pepper had been summoned by the sound and breathing a sigh of relief when she failed to swoop in, demanding to know what they were doing.
They made it outside onto the grass, and Tony slipped their little creation out from under his shirt with a grin. “You ready to launch this?” he asked, eyes sparkling mischievously as he sat their handmade rocket modeled after the USS Ulysses down on the grass. The kid nodded eagerly, his small frame vibrating with excitement. Pulling out a match, Tony lit it and handed it to him. “You do the honors,” he instructed, and the kid beamed, bending down and holding the match under the fuse until it caught on fire.
Scooping the kid up, Tony backed away from the launch zone, eyes locked on the fuse as it grew shorter, shorter, shorter, and –
Boom! Boom boom! Boom! Boom ba-boom!
The rocket launched into the air, shooting over the cabin and exploding in a kaleidoscope array of fireworks lighting up the darkening evening sky.
“Wow,” the boy said in Tony’s ear, and Tony grinned.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“What the hell is going on out here?” Pepper’s voice brought them both to a halt, identical expressions of guilt on their faces as they spun to face her.
“Pepper, darling, dearest, we were just having some fun with fireworks,” Tony babbled, and Pepper’s expression darkened as she stomped toward them.
“Fireworks? Morgan Hogan, what have I told you about playing with fire?”
“But Uncle Tony and I – “ Morgan started, and Pepper shook her head, reaching them and holding her hands out. Tony passed Morgan over, though the boy was reluctant to go, seeing his mother’s stormy expression.
“Uncle Tony has no concept of personal safety, we’ve talked about this,” Pepper scolded.
“Aw, Pep, you know I’d never let any harm come to my nephew,” Tony whined, and she skewered him with a look.
“Don’t you start with me! I’m trying to teach this one some sense of self-preservation, because you clearly never got that instilled in you, and I won’t have you corrupting that!” she reprimanded, and Tony hung his head.
“Sorry, Pep,” he muttered, and she softened, patting his cheek.
“Now, now, don’t look so dejected. You know I love it when you and Steve come over and spend time with him,” she said, smiling slightly. “And Morgan loves it, too. He needs a father figure – or two – in his life since Happy…” And she trailed off, unable to finish, though they both knew the end to that statement. Happy’d been taken in the snap, just days after Pepper had found out she was pregnant. The loss had hit her hard, and her pregnancy had been tumultuous – so much so that Tony had been terrified he was going to lose her, too.
“Well, I don’t know about ‘needs’ – he’s got the best mother in all the worlds, I’m pretty sure Steve and I just provide some extra entertainment,” Tony said lightly, hoping to alleviate the sudden drop into a heavier atmosphere.
Pepper smiled tremulously at him. “Thanks, Tony,” she said softly. “I really don’t know what I’d do without you two, though. You’re both so great with him.”
“Oh, Pepper, you’d be just fine without us and you know it – you’re an amazing mom. I’m glad we can be here for you though, and I know Steve feels the same,” Tony said honestly. Pepper smiled softly, accepting his words with a grateful nod.
“Alright, well, I’m going to go make sure this one gets some supper before he finishes his homework,” she said, nosing into Morgan’s cheek. Morgan giggled delightedly, wrapping his arms around Pepper’s neck and nosing back as she turned to head back inside the house.
“Work hard, munchkin. You know where Uncle Tony is if you need help,” Tony called after them, grinning. He sighed contentedly to himself, shoving his hands in his pockets and gazing out over the small pond that stretched in the cabin’s backyard. It was peaceful here in a way that his life at SI wasn’t, and he was loathe to return. He had to, he knew – after the snap, his relief foundations had more work than ever, and SI was also a major employer that a lot of people relied on for income. The company needed to do well, and, with Pepper taking a step back to raise her son, a lot of the responsibility for making sure that happened fell to Tony.
It was stressful and tough, and he missed the time when he could spend days in his lab inventing with no repercussions to the world at large from his absence. But he was also glad he could make a difference, could help give people a better life. So he continued to do it, of course – but sometimes he wondered what his life could’ve been if he hadn’t had SI.
“Wishing for a kid of our own?” Tony jolted a little at Steve’s voice, having not heard him approach. He turned, smiling up at his husband before wrapping his arms around Steve’s waist and leaning against his chest. A rumble of laughter vibrated against his ear, and Steve wrapped his arms around Tony in turn.
“A little bit, I guess,” Tony admitted, then sighed. “Do you ever wonder what life would’ve been like if we hadn’t been, well, us?”
Steve hummed thoughtfully. “Sometimes. I think I’d have been an artist, struggling to pay rent, and you’d have been a mad genius inventor.”
“I already am that,” Tony pointed out, and Steve chuckled.
“True,” he allowed. “I like to think we’d have met at some convention center where you were there for a science convention and I was there for an art one. We’d have run into each other – probably literally, knowing us – and I’d have asked you out for coffee. You’d have been snarky and sarcastic but said yes because of my amazing charm, and the rest would go from there.”
“Amazing charm, my ass! Do you even remember how you asked me out?”
“Oh god, don’t tell the story,” Steve pleaded, sounding amused.
“I was minding my own business in the Compound family room – “
“You’re telling the story.”
“ – when you walked in and stood directly in front of the TV. You said, ‘I noticed you haven’t, uh, fondued with anyone in a while, so I was wondering if you’d want to go out with me? Not fondue with me, of course – or not yet, at least! Maybe later, if you’d want to, if we end up going steady. Because it’s not that I don’t want to fondue with you, because I do, I just don’t like to, uh, go out for fondue on the first date, you know?’”
“You are never going to let me live that down, are you?” Steve asked exasperatedly, and Tony grinned.
“Never ever,” he agreed, and Steve rolled his eyes, then bent down to press a kiss to Tony’s forehead.
“I love you, you menace.”
“Love you, too.”