Pepper wasted no time when it came to making San Francisco feel like home for her little girl. She grew up with little money so she knew her way around thrift stores and sales aisles, even if she hadn’t worried about money in a long time. Hence, Morgan already had a decent wardrobe and some special toys. However, now that Morgan’s basic needs were met, Pepper turned to creating relationships for her. Granted, the current Clint wasn’t the one Morgan or Pepper were familiar with at home, but he’d had been kind to Pepper since their arrival and seemed excited to meet Morgan so Pepper was happy to introduce the pair.
“Clint is coming, Morg!” Pepper called to the little girl, who was playing on a nearby slide. She held her arms out and caught Morgan as she nearly plowed into her legs. She scooped her up and waved to Clint so he’d see them.
If there was one thing that surprised people about Clint it was how much he loved kids. Now, whether they loved him back was a point of some debate, but he didn't mind if the feeling wasn't mutual. All the same, he really hoped he could sweeten the deal with the gift bag he held behind his back as he approached. Clint freed a hand to wave at them both and smiled brightly. "Hello, two pretty ladies. And how are we today?"
Pepper grinned at Clint as she set Morgan back on the ground. “We are just wonderful, aren’t we, Morgan?” She knelt so she was at Morgan’s level and gestured to Clint. “This is Mr. Clint,” she reminded the girl. “He is a friend of ours. Can you say hello?”
Morgan looked up shyly before breaking into a grin. “Hi, Mr. Clint!” She waved and beamed. “Do you like swings?”
"Do I ever!" Clint gave the little girl a smile to match and passed the gift bag surreptitiously to Pepper. It wasn't a big thing, just something cute he's found at the drug store on his way home from putting in applications and going on a couple of interviews. He wasn't all that stressed about finding a job, but he was kind of holding out hope that it might be something he actually wanted to do.
The swing set in question looked sturdy enough, and recently put in, so he figured it could probably take his weight for a little while. Besides, he was more than happy to provide a few gentle pushes to really get the little one going. Looking at Morgan, he could definitely see both Pepper and Tony in there. She was just about the most opposite a person could get from their namesake on his world. "How do you and your mom and dad like the new place? You're in high school, right? I bet you're already captain of the academic decathlon and the future international business leaders society."
Pepper took the bag and mouthed “thank you” while Morgan was distracted with Clint. She’d have the child thank Clint properly later. For now, she didn’t seem to notice the bag passing between adults.
Morgan giggled and shook her head. “I’m this many!” She held up four fingers. “My brother is in the big school though! He’s not really my brother, but he still is my brother. Do you know Peter?” She took Clint’s hand and tried tugging him toward the swings. “I love it here! Daddy is here!” She looked sad for a moment. “Daddy’s not at home.”
Pepper cringed. She wasn’t sure how much Clint knew about her world. “That’s right, sweetie, we are having a great time here. Now be a good girl and ask Clint about how he likes it.”
Morgan glanced up at Clint. “Do you like it here, Mr. Clint?”
Her fingers barely fit around two of his, but that didn't keep Clint folding thumb around hers so he could hold her hand right back. "Four! Wow, I haven't been that old in—well, I've run out of fingers and toes, but it's been a long, long time. I knew a Peter like your brother on my world, but he's not the same guy. Seems nice, though. We chatted some about his first day of school on that new network thing the nice people around here set up for us."
He glanced over at Pepper and caught the tail end of the face she made. There was a story there, and a bad one from the looks of things. Didn't take a lot to infer that something had happened to Tony on their world, but he let it go for the sake of Pepper and her little girl's brilliant smile. They'd gotten to the swing set by that time, and he watched her scramble into her seat, poised to help if it looked like too much.
But she had her mom's grit and her dad's determination and managed it all on her own. He barely fit into the one next to her, but listened as hard as his aids would let him for any tell-tale creaks. "I like it well enough, thank you. If I'm honest, it's nicer than the apartment I came from before, but I hadn't been there a while myself. I got my new dog with me too, so that really helps. Do you like dogs, Morgan? His name is Lucky, and he's the best at giving sloppy kisses."
Pepper followed the pair to the swings, but sat on a nearby bench and just watched in case they needed her. She was grateful she didn’t need to explain Morgan’s words just yet. Pepper knew their new world was fragile, but was still living in a dream where her family was whole and okay. They could face the challenges in time.
Morgan, meanwhile, was loving her new friend. “A dog? Yes! We have an ‘all-packa’ at home!”
“Alpaca, honey,” Pepper called gently.
“His name is Gerald!” Morgan continued excitedly. “And he eats Mommy’s garden. Does your doggie eat gardens?”
Clint's brows shot toward his hairline as he looked toward Pepper and bemusedly mouthed the word alpaca??? This was a story he was kind of desperate to hear. "Lucky? Nah, but he loves pizza. Sometimes I call him Pizza Dog. It totally fits. But let's get back to Gerald." He wasn't so much swinging as he was slowly moving himself back and forth, but he twisted and leaned in almost conspiratorially. "Tell me the truth, did your Daddy name him? I'll bet it stands for something like… Giant Eating Ravenous Animal, Like Dad. He does like his acronyms."
Yes, he knew she was four, but that wasn't going to keep him from talking to her like she was an adult—without all the swearing, of course.
Pepper shrugged while laughing. It was Tony’s idea, of course, but there was little she could deny him after he lost Peter. And truthfully? Retired life with an alpaca had suited their little family.
Morgan giggled. “Daddy did! And Daddy makes big names all the time! He calls me Morguna!”
Pepper left her perch on the bench to join Clint and Morgan. She gently pushed Morgan’s swing. “Tell us about your world, Clint, or Morgan here will chew your ear off.”
There were very few sounds as delightful as a little kid's laugh, and Morgan's was no different. Clint grinned along in response, a laugh of his own caught in his throat so she didn't get the wrong idea that she might be making fun. "Yeah, I don't think you'd like munching on metal and plastic." He leaned in and lightly tapped next to his ear, showing off his purple aids and then sat back again. "But my world? Well… we have a lot of superheroes there for starters—and I'm one of them."
“Pretty!” Morgan exclaimed over the hearing aids before listening carefully to his words about superheroes. “My daddy is a superhero! He saved the world.”
“Morgan,” Pepper said softly, “Clint might have some more to say about his world.” Truthfully, she didn’t want to launch into an explanation about Tony and what happened in their world.
“Sorry, Mr. Clint!” Morgan replied quickly. “What superheroes do you have?”
Another story that was clearly for another day, but Clint didn't mind. It just gave him more excuses to hang out with Pepper—and eventually Tony, he hoped. Maybe more than one Tony, since that was apparently a thing. Anyway, he was still kind of buzzing from his aids being called 'pretty,' and he smiled easily and shrugged off the apology since it wasn't necessary in the slightest. "Funny enough, we've got a lot of the same as you do, plus a bunch more. I've been on a team with my Tony and Mr. Steve and Mr. Thor and Ms. Wanda and Ms. Natasha for a long time, and we've gone on all kinds of adventures. It's a pretty cool life, but it's no, like, doctor or lawyer or business CEO."
“It keeps you on your toes,” Pepper teased lightly as she pushed Morgan’s swing.
“I’m gonna be a hero!” Morgan declared.
Pepper bit back a groan. She knew her little daredevil just might end up a hero. “She’s obsessed with the things in our garage. Tony had a suit for me as a surprise and this little one found the mask.” She reached down to tickle Morgan’s shoulder.
“Daddy had lots of stuff! Fun stuff! Do you have a costume, Mr. Clint? Daddy is Iron Man!”
"Your daddy totally is Iron Man! My Tony is Iron Man too." Clint wondered if the one from Pepper's world had gone through half the things his counterpart had, but mentioning any of that would have been in incredibly poor taste. "I've had a bunch of costumes, actually, stretching all the way back to my circus days. You ever heard somebody say they were gonna run away and join the circus? That was totally me. But you should definitely not do that. You should stay in school and get good grades and love your mom and dad, and maybe visit the circus every once in a while instead. And then become a hero."
He sent a sly look in Pepper's direction and winked at her. "You know, I'll bet your mom's a hero even without all the fancy suits your dad makes. And your dad is a hero without them too, I'd wager. There's lots of ways to be a hero that don't involve dressing up in costumes and armor and fighting bad guys."
Pepper chuckled when he winked at her. She was touched by his words. “Clint is a smart guy, you should listen to him, sweetheart.”
Morgan beamed at her mom and then Clint. “Mommy is great! She missed Daddy, but she kept playing with me anyway and that made me not so sad.” She jumped off the swing then, which made Pepper quickly reach for her, but the little girl landed on her feet. “Do you wanna play on the slide, Mr. Clint?”
He followed her in an instant, just taking a smooth step away on the upward swing, and offered his hand to hold. Not that there was a huge distance between the set and the slide, but it kind of felt like the principle of the thing, and she was so tiny. Clint grinned back at Pepper, his brows bouncing in amusement. "You bet I do. I'm starting to think I should leave my social calendar in your hands. You clearly know how to have all the fun."
One look at the set up, however, dissuaded him from making the attempt. It was clearly made for the smaller set, and there was no way his big frame was going to do anything but chafe in unfortunate places. "So, I have an idea. Why don't we both climb to the top, and then I'll see if I can race down and catch you, okay? I'm really fast."
Morgan happily held Clint’s hand as Pepper trailed behind them. “And Mommy will watch!”
Pepper laughed. “Yes, Clint’s got this.”
Morgan nodded her agreement and started to climb the stairs. “Ready?”
"I was born ready!" Clint let her get a headstart of course, because crowding after a four year old was not a thing he was about to do. When they got to the top, he climbed onto the guide bars and balanced there while Morgan got ready to slide down. He watched her tip her head back and giggle at him, but he made a shooing motion at her.
She squealed as she went down, and Clint launched himself off the bars and into the air where he twisted and landed right in front of the end, just in time to scoop her up. "Ta-da!!"
Morgan was thrilled. “Aghhh! Again, again!” She shouted as she hugged him around the neck.
Pepper’s heart pounded a little when Clint did his move, but she had to admit it was awesome. She applauded. “Excellent moves, both of you! Five stars.”
He took a bow toward Pepper and managed to mask any discomfort of having that tiny but powerful voice directly in his ears. More laughter abounded as Clint swooped her up onto his shoulders. "We all know who the real star of the show is. I'm just here to make Madam Morgan the Magnificent look good. Okay, kiddo, I got one more in me. Anything additional is going to require more gym time, okay? And I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind me saving her from having another heart attack."