Current mood:	grateful
Entry tags:	!gamewide plot (generic), marvel: pepper potts-stark (mcu), marvel: tony stark (mcu), ~!game plot: move in day

THREAD: Pepper/Tony/NPC!Morgan

It had been an exhausting day. Pepper was so happy to reconnect with May and Peter, but moving across the country with a young child was no joke. Weeks in a shelter had been hard, especially after everything they had just gone through in their reality. Luckily, Morgan wanted a little more time with Aunt May and Peter so Pepper was alone in their apartment getting things in order. Granted, she didn’t have much stuff considering she’d only been in the current world for a little bit, but she wanted to make it as comfortable for Morgan as possible. She had bought a few things for Morgan’s room with the money the government gave them and was setting the room up when she heard the door open.

“Hello?” She walked out of the room holding a stuffed dog.

Tony didn’t really know what was going on, but that didn’t matter. They had told him enough, that this was some other dimension, and that his wife and daughter had been displaced here as well. They had given him a starter pack, which was basically enough to get him through starting up in a new place, but he didn’t look at it that closely. Still dressed in his time traveling suit, Tony nearly flew to the address that they’d given him.

“Pep?” He called out, the apartment was new, and smaller than what they’d had before, but that didn’t matter. He just wanted to see that his family was really there. His face softened when he saw his wife. He moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her, lifting her slightly as he hugged her. “Where is trouble?”

Pepper froze. Tony. Her Tony. She knew he could show up, but she hadn’t dared hope. She had to be strong for her daughter. Yet there he was and she couldn’t hold back the tears that sprung to her eyes. “Tony,” she whispered as she hugged him tightly. “Oh my god, Tony.” She pressed her lips to his briefly. “Morgan is with May and Peter. Oh, Peter will want to see you too!” She let go only enough to wipe at her cheeks. “Tony...I missed you so much.” Then she swatted his arm. “Don’t you dare leave me again!”

Tony didn’t know what happened, but when the tears came to his wife’s eyes, his heart broke and he held her tighter. “Hey, I’m here. I’m here.” He promised her, rubbing her back until she pulled away from him slightly. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, but there was excitement in his eyes. “May and Peter are here?” He asked her, but he knew his wife, she wouldn’t have said it if it weren’t true. “It worked…” He muttered, mostly to himself.

He tilted his head, “I am… very missable.” He quipped, but his face grew serious, “How long have you been here without me?”

Pepper chuckled. She missed that sarcasm. “Three weeks in this world,” she replied slowly. She caught on that Tony was from earlier in time than she was when he mentioned the blip working. She didn’t want to break the news, but with Morgan right next door the clock was ticking. “Honey, I need to tell you something,” she said gently. She reached for his hand and pulled him toward the couch. “Let’s sit down?”

Tony squeezed Pepper’s hand as she led them towards the couch. He already knew that whatever it was, he wasn’t going to like it. But he could fix it. That's what he was good at, right? He didn’t have the millions of dollars he typically had to throw at it, but he’d figure that out later.

“What happened?” He asked softly.

Pepper kept a hand on Tony’s knee as they sat. “You and the others...you brought everyone back, but there was a fight. Thanos came from another timeline and he nearly won. He was going to use the stones again, but wipe everyone out.” She took a deep breath. “I was there. I helped fight. I couldn’t stay home when our daughter’s future was at risk. And...and you were so brave, sweetheart. You managed to get the gauntlet and look him right in the eyes and…” Tears welled in her eyes again. “You used the stones, Tony. You used them to save us all.” She released a deep breath to steady her nerves. “We lost you. The suit couldn’t handle the energy.” She leaned into him, burying her face into his neck. “But we’re here now and Morgan is next door and I’m never letting you go again.”

There was an undeniable well of pride in Tony when Pepper said that they had been successful. They had brought the others back. "You used the suit?" There was a small half smirk on his face, a torrent of emotions inside of him. His hand rested on the side of her face.

"Fuuuck." He finally said slowly. It had been a possibility, it always was, but to know it had actually happened. "Pepper, I'm not going anywhere." He told her gently. "Retired. Officially." He swore again.

"How long have I been…?"

She smiled gently. She knew he meant his words, but she also knew the world sometimes just needed Iron Man. They could take it one day at a time. Maybe peace would last here. “It is six months in my time,” she explained. “I’ve been here for three weeks though. Morgan has been with me the whole time. She missed her daddy.” Her smile widened as she spoke of their little girl. “She is so resilient, Tony. She has been so strong throughout all these changes.” She rested a hand on his neck. “Peter has missed you too. I keep him and May close in our time. I knew you would have wanted us to stay in touch.”

“I’m sorry.” Tony said. It wasn’t necessarily a phrase he said often, but he meant it. He hated the idea of leaving his wife and children behind. Still, he smiled, gently when she described their daughter. “She sounds just like her mother.” He told her, “I bet she’s perfect.”

“I’m glad. I’m glad you’re looking out for him.” Not that he had any doubt that Pepper would do something like that, knowing what was sacrificed to bring them all back.

Pepper ran her hand through his hair. “Don’t, honey. We’re here now and we are going to make the most of it.” She didn’t want to watch him beat himself up. “I love you.” She stopped herself from saying how much she missed him. She didn’t want to pile on the guilt. “How should we tell Morgan? Shall I break the news first or should you just surprise her?” She paused. “She might think you are a hologram. You left one behind for us.”

“You know there is an overdramatic showman in me that thinks I could just surprise her with some sort of stuffed animal. Maybe a rabbit. A real one.” He smirked at her. “But I should probably just have you explain it to her. I don’t want to… scare her.”

“Yeah…” He said softly. He remembered recording one, before the time heist. It had been an idea he’d come up with when he was in space, long before Morgan was born. He didn’t like that… it had to be used.

Pepper laughed. Man, she missed his humor. “No bunnies just yet. Let’s get settled first.” She couldn’t take her eyes off her husband, but she knew she needed to share the moment with her daughter. “I’ll go now. Give me a few minutes?”

"You thought I spoiled her before? I have six months to catch up on." Tony winked at his wife playfully. Making jokes would make it better, right? "I'll… make snacks. And be right here."

She rolled her eyes playfully. “Our daughter? Spoiled by you? Never.” She kissed his cheek again and then reluctantly moved from the couch. “I’ll be back before you can miss me.” She, however, already missed him.

She was gone for fifteen minutes. Morgan was only four so it was easy for her to believe in magic bringing Daddy back to them.

“Daddy!” Morgan screeched once Pepper opened the door and let her barrel through. Tony had been gone months in their time, which felt like a lifetime to the little girl.

Tony felt like Pepper was gone forever. He did his best to keep busy, not that there was much to do in the apartment. He got a little plate and put some pretzels on it. Maybe Morgie would be hungry. He felt almost nervous about his daughter's reaction.

Tony couldn't help but grin, tears pricking at his eyes when she came running to him. He scooped her up effortlessly, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "God, Morgan, you're so big." He smiled at her, holding her tight. "I'm so happy to see you." He reached out his arm to beckon Pepper into the hug too. "My beautiful brave girls."

Morgan giggled in her father’s arms and squeezed him around his neck. “I asked God to bring you back and he did!”

Pepper glanced at Morgan. She was worried their new little world would fall apart and they’d be back in their last one where people who died...well, stayed dead. Mostly. Nick Fury didn’t count. Still, there was no way to explain all that to a small child. Besides, what harm did believing in a miracle do? Tony was a miracle to her. She reached up to touch the corners of his eyes when she noticed the tears pricking at them. “We learned from you.” She stepped back then to give Morgan a little time with her father.

The little girl was intent on just being held in Tony’s arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and peered up at him. “I played tea party with Peter! Mommy says they are gonna be next door so we can all play now.”

“I can’t stay away for too long.” Tony promised Morgan, knowing that his time with her now was just extra time he wouldn’t otherwise get, he squeezed her just a little tighter. Peter and Morgan playing together warmed Tony’s heart. That was the whole reason he had done the things he’d done, to make his family whole again. “I hope that you are making Peter play nice. You know that he can be trouble sometimes. Hope you are keeping him in line.” He winked at his daughter.

“Once we get everything set up, we’ll invite May and Peter over and have a nice big family dinner.” He promised her.

Morgan squealed. “Yes, please!”

“Speaking of set up, I was taking care of Morgan’s room,” Pepper chimed in. “What do you say we all finish together?”

Tony grinned and set the little girl down finally. "That sounds like a brilliant plan! Morg, why don't you show me which room you've picked?"

He smirked at Pepper. "That reminds me, I have to go buy some clothing. Guess that shirt you hate is finally gone for good."

Pepper swatted his arm. “Good! You are so handsome and that shirt was so ugly.” Her eyes glistened with happy tears that she quickly blinked back. “Come on now, let’s do Morgan’s room.”

Tony lingered for just a second, another kiss pressed to his wife's temple. "C'mon, we have some work to do to make this feel like home."